Fountain of Age
by Babbitt
Summary: AU. Syaoran and Eriol are on the trail of the Fountain of Youth... a trail that would lead them inevitably to Tomoeda... and Sakura...[Complete. Finished. Done.]
1. In London

Fountain of Age

Summary: AU. Syaoran and Eriol are on the trail of the Fountain of Youth... a trail that would lead them inevitably to Tomoeda... and Sakura...

Disclaimer: I don't own Card Captor Sakura. None of it: manga, anime, little plushie Keros; I own nothing.

88888888

Chapter 1: In London...

88888888

The Englishman Eriol had somehow fallen asleep in his extremely hard backed chair. Whatever comfort there was in those rigid arms, he had found it and had lost himself within it. He opened his eyes like a man waking from the dead.

"You've come to a decision," a voice from the doorway said.

Eriol smiled sleepily at the door. The hall outside was lost to the inky darkness of a London night. As was the speaker: he or she was perfectly hidden in the hallway. If anything could be seen out there, it was the occasional glimmer of mint green eyes.

"Reading minds are you?" Eriol asked the eyes.

The eyes moved out of sight. "Kaho called."

"Really?" Eriol said, amused.

More movement, but this time, with a slight flash of mint. "No," the voice said. Flash. "It's horrible to try and pull your leg, Eriol. You always know when people are lying." The speaker rested his or her eyes on the boy. "Glad to see you're all right."

The intensity of all that mint pinned on one person probably could've frozen fire, but Eriol grinned. "Why wouldn't I be all right?"

The speaker didn't answer, and, instead, resumed pacing. Eriol could hear movement on the carpet and the eyes swam in and out of view.

"Really, Supi, nothing's wrong."

"So you claim," Supi answered with another flash of mint. "But something else has come up. Someone from China called. The Li family."

"I know."

"Yes, and we know you know." Flash, flash. "But what are we going to do about it? The woman talked too fast, but I think she said something about a visit..."

"A visit?" He catapulted out of the chair. "In which direction-"

Ding dong!

Eriol immediately turned in the general direction of the doors to the outside. In the hallway, there was a whooshing noise, then something dropped to the floor with a clunk. Silence.

Ding dong!

He left the room.

Ding dong!

"Supi..." He picked the stuffed animal off the ground. It looked like a black cat with wings.

Ding dong!

Stumbling upstairs.

"I'll get it " Eriol yelled. He placed the stuffed animal on the hallway table.

Ding dong!

"Coming, coming " he told the door. Really, whoever was at the door really need only ring once. His ears hurt. Vaguely annoyed, Eriol marched through the narrow corridor and opened the door.

"Impatient aren't we?" he told his visitor.

The visitor tilted his head to the left, examining Eriol with his amber eyes.

"Hiiragizawa Eriol," he said, flawlessly. So he wasn't English. The English always complained his name contained far too many syllables, and they would never have put his last name first.

"Yes?" He could guess who this was now. "Li..."

The boy bowed and said, "I am Li Xiao Lang."

"Of course," Eriol said. "A phone call came from China just an hour ago to tell me you were coming."

"Yes, I came-"

"Just an hour ago; can you imagine it?" Eriol continued, as if he hadn't spoken. "Absolutely out of the blue; no warning. And I was busy in the library too; completely missed it."

The Li boy flushed.

Eriol smiled slightly. Li Xiao Lang was a very serious boy, and he was going to be incredibly fun to tease. He sighed. "Well, don't just stand out there in the dark," he moved aside, "come in."

His visitor entered meekly and found that Hiiragizawa's house was just as dark as the outside. Darker, considering that the full moon and the street lights made it possible to at least see eight feet in front of your face. There were no lights on in Hiiragizawa's house.

"Sorry 'bout that," Eriol said. He shut the door behind him. "The light bulbs died in a storm a few weeks ago, and we still have to install the new ones."

Xiao Lang responded by taking out one of his paper spells, and lighting it on fire. A weak glow washed over the hall.

"Well, yes, that might be smart." He moved deeper into the house, expecting his guest to follow him, but the boy didn't. Eriol looked back to find Xiao Lang gazing into the empty kitchen.

"Xiao Lang," Eriol attempted to grab his attention. He saw instead, in the wavering firelight, what Xiao Lang had found. "Oh..."

On the wall hung a painting. It was difficult to see exactly what was on it because someone had taken black paint and smeared the original out of sight. They hadn't done a very thorough job, whoever it was, and little corners of something colorful peeked through. Strands of pink, something red, something midnight blue. The most bizarre thing about the painting, though, was the two pairs of eyes. They were the types of eyes that seemed to follow you everywhere, and they had mysteriously been preserved by the vandal. Whoever had washed it over with black paint had deliberately left the eyes uncovered.

"Er, yes," Eriol said, unsure of how to explain this. "Someone broke in, and vandal-"

"Eriol," said the Li boy, "I have come to seek the Fountain of Youth."

"-ized it. What did you say?"

"I have come to seek the Fountain of Youth," Xiao Lang repeated.

His host sighed and scratched his head. "To the point aren't you?" he said. He pulled his fingers out of his hair. "This isn't really the place to look for it."

"My mother told me to come here," Xiao Lang insisted.

"And you followed her, of course, no questions asked." Eriol knew how it was. He patted his relative on the head. Then he gazed out into the distance, lost.

"Xiao Lang," he said quietly, "do you believe the fountain exists?"

Silence. Xiao Lang started, "My mother-"

"Yes, you're mother," Eriol agreed to nothing.

"My mother wants it and-"

"Ah Must be a trial. Xiao Lang must prove himself competent before becoming head of the Li clan someday; am I right, am I right?" He smiled, and nudged the boy as if they'd been friends for years.

Xiao Lang blushed. "Please, Eriol, my mother sent me here to find the fountain. She told me you know something about it."

Eriol turned to lead him deeper into the house and away from the ruined painting. The boy's persistence was beginning to play on his nerves. "Tell your mother," he said, in a tone he hoped was neutral, "that it doesn't exist. There is no point in looking for it."

"She's not going to accept that," Xiao Lang protested, following him.

"Well, make her," Eriol argued. "Really, people have been looking for the Fountain of Youth for centuries and no one has ever found it. You hear me? No one." They came to the part of the house where one could travel farther down the hall, turn to the living room, enter the kitchen or climb the stairs. Eriol chose to climb the stairs.

"Besides," he went on, "England is not the place to look for it. Florida maybe; you've heard of Ponce de Leon?"

The name rang a bell, but Xiao Lang said, instead, "She said you have a book; a book concerning the fountain."

His relative stopped quite suddenly, without warning, and Xiao Lang nearly ran into him. "Yelan hasn't been here for a very long time," Eriol said. He seemed to have been talking to himself more so than to the boy. "She doesn't know anything."

They stood there, Eriol, perhaps in thought, and Xiao Lang mildly confused. What was going on? Was that bitterness in the bespectacled boy's voice? The boy in question resumed his ascent as though there hadn't been a pause at all and Xiao Lang followed him a moment later.

"Now," Eriol said, cheer returning to his voice, "let's put you in a room."

The upstairs hallway was flooded with light. It poured out of the long, rectangular window that ended the hall. Outside, the moon hung low in the sky, cradled by skeletal tree branches. It was pretty eerie, considering that it was spring. Shouldn't the trees be festooned with leaves right about now?

Eriol opened the first door to the right. "There you are," he told the room. Then, he turned to Xiao Lang. "This will do. Come on; stop gawking like you've never seen the moon before." And he disappeared into the room.

"Oh Eriol " a voice cried, exasperated. "Not yet I haven't finished-"

"Oh, it's all right, Nakuru," Eriol reassured the voice. "We'll just move the ladder and the plastic."

Xiao Lang entered the room and a tall woman using Eriol as a chin rest, her arms wrapped around him. Indeed, she was a full head taller than he was. She stood next to a ladder, a spare light bulb dangling from her fingers. It seemed as though she'd been installing the light bulb that now revealed a dusty room covered in plastic.

Her eyes absolutely lit up at the sight of him. "Hello "

"Hello," Xiao Lang replied, bowing slightly.

"He's so adorable " She absolutely squealed, and the next thing Xiao Lang knew, she was pinching his cheeks with delight. "What is your name, what is your name?"

Xiao Lang, much like other thirteen year old children, didn't like being pinched. But the girl simply overwhelmed him and he stood there, stunned. "Li Xiao Lang," he complied, meekly.

Eriol laughed. "Nakuru, let the boy breathe. You act as if he's the only cute boy in the world."

"Oh, I can't forget about you, sir," the girl told him, eagerly. She turned back to Xiao Lang. "My name is Akizuki Nakuru. I'm Eriol's housekeeper. I will fix you up whatever you like, whenever you want. Would you like anything now? It's late; maybe some hot chocolate? Warm milk? Do you like marshmallows, Syaoran?"

Eriol's housekeeper was obviously Japanese. Come to think of it, so was Eriol's name, although he spoke flawless English.

"I don't want anything right now, thank you," he answered.

"I'd like a cup of hot chocolate," Eriol piped up. "With marshmallows."

"As you wish." Nakuru bowed and skipped out of the room.

"Will this do?" Eriol asked Xiao Lang when the girl was gone. "We can just move the plastic, and the ladder and you'll be all set."

"Okay," agreed Xiao Lang and he helped Eriol fold the ladder and carry it out into the hall. They shoved it in a corner, and were removing the plastic when Nakuru returned with cups of hot chocolate on a tray. Despite his words, there was a cup for Xiao Lang, and he took it once the room's plastic had joined the ladder outside.

The room felt empty, and very bright, due to the new light bulb. The walls were revealed to be a forest green color, bare of posters or pictures. The tiny bed lay in the corner next to a tall lamp and a large window. There was no bedside table, although there was a round one next to the door; the type that little girls celebrated tea parties around. There was nothing else in the room, except for an empty closet. It seemed completely cold and impersonal.

"Sorry 'bout that," Eriol said, grinning sheepishly. "We haven't used this room much, and you arrived on such short notice..."

Xiao Lang replaced his drained cup on the tray. "Eriol," he gazed at the cup as if it was his relative, "I really must find the Fountain of Youth."

"This is no longer the time to talk about it," said Eriol, hastily, but firmly. "Wait until tomorrow. And in the meantime, consider what you really believe in. You told me you did not believe the fountain existed, and yet you insist upon searching for it. Why are you putting yourself through such a fool's errand? Go to sleep, Xiao Lang. Good night."

And before he knew it, Xiao Lang was alone in the empty room.

88888888

Author's Notes: Thank you for reaching the end of the first chapter. I know it was a bit on the long side. (Chapter two's pretty long too...)


	2. In Eriol's Library

Fountain of Age

Summary: AU. Syaoran and Eriol are on the trail of the Fountain of Youth... a trail that would lead them inevitably to Tomoeda... and Sakura...

Disclaimer: I don't own Card Captor Sakura. None of it: manga, anime, little plushie Keros; I own nothing.

88888888

Chapter 2: In Eriol's Library...

88888888

"The Fountain of Youth?" Nakuru's brow furrowed. She closed the door to the Xiao Lang's room. "Why would he be interested in that?"

"An old Li clan custom," explained Eriol, carelessly. "Send the next clan head on a meaningless quest to prove themselves worthy."

"I suppose you-"

"Leave Xiao Lang to look for it by himself," Eriol snapped. He headed for his own room, leaving Nakuru at the top of the stairs. "Let him learn a thing or two."

88888888

Xiao Lang's mother had mentioned a book and Eriol had mentioned a library. If Eriol did indeed own a book pertaining to the Fountain of Youth, it seemed logical that it would be in there. Xiao Lang rose early the next day to begin his search. His cousin clearly did not want him to find the Fountain of Youth; it was in Xiao Ling's interest to evade the boy. He thought that Eriol obviously did not understand the importance of finding the fountain. He was running the risk of being disowned! The shame...

With a slight shudder, he eased open the doors on the second floor. Careful not to be heard, Xiao Lang poked his head into the small space between the door and the frame. The one across from his was revealed to be a bedroom with midnight blue walls, mottled with tiny stars and planets. If Xiao Lang could guess from the size of the bed, the beauty of the mahogany dresser, and the other door on the left wall, this was the master bedroom. It was completely tidy: the bed wasn't rumpled at all. Xiao Lang supposed Eriol's parents slept there; although Eriol had yet to mention them and he had yet to glimpse them. Xiao Lang mildly thought that this was strange. Still, he closed the door to continue the quest at hand.

The other rooms on the second floor were bedrooms too; dusty ones. Everything was covered in plastic and Xiao Lang could just see what each room was painted as. He found a pink room, a lilac room, a tan room, one in a blue color reminiscent of faded denim jeans, and one wallpapered with off white flowers. The final room was the blindingly white bathroom, and it wasn't covered in plastic.

So no, The library wasn't on the second floor.

Xiao Lang headed downstairs, carefully taking one step at a time. He needed to search the first floor and he had yet to see Eriol or Nakuru. He vaguely wondered where they were. He did not see them in the living room or the kitchen; both rooms being empty but immaculately clean. With a glance at the ruined painting, Xiao Lang turned down the hallway next to the stairs.

The library was the first door to the left. He gasped at the sight of it. He had never seen such a large number of books in such a small space. The room was just a little wider than the master bedroom upstairs, though with a higher ceiling. Towering bookshelves covered every inch of every wall, save for a space in the corner for a window. The window spilled sunlight everywhere; on the long table, the chairs, the carpet. It felt really cozy, and exceptionally warm.

Where to start? Xiao Lang ran his eyes over the shelves. There were so many books, red, brown, old books. New books; all sorts. He stared at them and felt his stomach plummet at the realization:

He had no idea what the title of the book was!

Xiao Lang wished the ground would swallow him. How could he have been so stupid as to neglect such an important detail?! Now, what could he do? He should've asked his mother when he was still in Hong Kong. But if he called her now, she would think the hunt was a failure and would disown him on the spot. Calling her was not an option.

Xiao Lang ran his eyes over the shelves again, in hopes that a book, any book, would just yell out and say, "It's me! I know where the Fountain of Youth is, and I can tell you everything..."

He ended up in the F section. Why not? If he had any luck, some book was simply titled _The Fountain of Youth_. His fingers skimmed over the titles on the leather spines. _Flora and Fauna_, no. _Florence_, no. _Forks in History_; definitely not. He was just about to switch shelves when a very thin book caught his eye. _Fountains of the World_, it was titled, and the author was a Fujitaka Kinomoto.

"Close enough," Xiao Lang told himself, and he tried to pull it off the shelves. It was sandwiched between the shelf's side and _Four Funny Fourth Graders_. "Come on," he urged the book, and he pulled on it for a good five minutes before it toppled out, bringing along with it _Four Funny Fourth Graders_, and half a dozen other books. The force of it knocked Xiao Lang off his feet, and buried him under the reading material. They were very noisy books; far more noisy that he would've liked. He lay still on the floor for a moment, buried, biting his lip in pain since _Four Funny Fourth Graders _had socked him in the gut. His ears were tuned to the hall, listening for any sounds that might indicate someone rushing to check on the library. Nothing. Slowly, he extricated himself from the dusty books, placed them back in their rightful places (if Eriol was to enter the library right now...), and headed for the long table.

What he found there nearly made him wish he was buried in books again. Eriol was sitting on the windowsill, his chin on the back of a chair, grinning at him.

"I-" Xiao Lang tried to excuse himself, his grip loosening on the book. It was like being caught stealing food from the kitchens when he was eight all over again. Xiao Lang cursed himself for not seeing Eriol earlier. He supposed he must've missed him while panicking over the book's title.

His cousin's eyes were fixed on his hands. "Good book, that one," commented Eriol with a nod. He moved from behind the chair, and stood next to it instead, so that he was hard to see in the glare of the sunlight behind him.

There was nothing else for it. It was very clear to Xiao Lang how important it was for him to find the Fountain of Youth and it was equally important that Eriol understood this. He stood taller, ready to defend himself, and said, "I really need to find the fountain, Eriol, it will-"

"-decide your future?" finished his cousin. "I know. Jog my memory a bit. If you do not find the Fountain of Youth, you cannot be the head of the Li clan, you will be disowned, and you dread the shame. You could potentially become a penniless beggar living on the streets or a corpse at the bottom of the river. I know how the Li clan works, Xiao Lang. I am a Li after all. If distantly."

Xiao Ling dropped his arms, and stood there dully. So Eriol knew about the whole affair, in and out. His final chance at defense was gone. What a choice of words though! Beggar on the streets; corpse in the river. Xiao Lang felt as if he was inches away from being punished. He envied his cousin for standing there, grinning, at complete ease with the world, while, he, Xiao Lang, fried his poor brains over this impossible task.

"You know," Eriol broke into his thoughts, "I never forbade you to come to the library. I never forbade you to continue looking for the fountain. I just told you the facts which are, once again, that the possibility of finding the fountain is astronomical, and, that this quest is a massive waste of time."

"But-"

"-Your mother wants it, yes, you told me," Eriol finished, a knowing twinkle in his eye. Or maybe it was sun glare on his glasses. "You also told me that you don't believe in the existence of the fountain, but here you are."

"I-I don't," Xiao Lang told the floor. "But my mother does, and-"

"-That is all that matters." Eriol completed his sentence for him again. "But really, if you don't believe in the thing, what is the likelihood of you finding it? The Fountain of Youth could be right here, in this library, and you could never recognize it for what it was; you would just think that it was just another fountain; nothing extraordinary."

His cousin didn't have an answer to that. He stood there, gazing at the floor, his fingers running up and down the book.

Eriol moved to sit in the chair he was leaning on. "Come and sit, Xiao Lang," he invited, patting the seat next to him. Xiao Lang, feeling somewhat betrayed, came forward to sit across from him, a good long distance away. Eriol didn't insist that he move, and instead, simply wove his fingers together, and tucked them under his chin. He examined Xiao Lang from the tip of his brown head to the amber of his eyes; eyes that would not meet Eriol's own. He must've scared the boy; the last thing he had wanted to do.

"I'll tell you what I have heard of the Fountain of Youth," Eriol said, kindly. Xiao Lang, who thought his hearing might've been malfunctioning, finally looked up at his cousin with surprise. The older boy smiled. He pulled himself out of the chair and went to look out the window. "You might want to take notes," he added.

Xiao Lang did not. He, instead, stared at his cousin so hard his eyes were in danger of drying out.

"Years and years ago," began Eriol, gazing out the window, "a man named Christopher Columbus found the New World in 1492."

"But what does-"

"Sssh! Let me finish my story." Eriol waited for silence, then continued, "The Europeans became very excited because here was unspoiled land, asking to be taken, never mind that there were natives on the continent. They came, in droves, to conquer the New World, and they brought with them two very important things: Catholicism and disease.

"The disease killed off the natives one by one. They lacked the immunity that the Europeans had built up, you see, and they tried so very hard to cure themselves. They used their remedies, they prayed to their gods, they made sacrifices, but it didn't matter: the disease still killed them.

"And of course, being intelligent people, they could not fail to notice that the Europeans were not dying. They thought this meant that the European gods were stronger than their own, and they converted to Catholicism in hopes that they would be saved.

"Now, as Catholics, they heard the story of the healing powers of the Jordan River. If you don't know what that is, Xiao Lang, it is where Jesus Christ, the son of God, was baptized and blessed by his Father. The natives believed that if they could find the Jordan River, they would be cured, and they searched for it, and searched for it, and never found it."

"Isn't the Jordan River in Israel or something?" interrupted Xiao Lang.

"Yes, I believe so," replied Eriol, turning to face him. "And we all know that the Jordan River cannot make you young again. Not physically anyway. But, then again, this is what I've heard; I can't really give you any concrete proof on the subject. It is, after all, the Fountain of Youth, and there is very little concrete in that."

Eriol grinned, leaned on the chair again and said, "Years later, a man named Ponce de Leon, came to the New World to search for this source of healing water. By that time, the story had mutated to the point that it now includes the most fabled power of the Fountain of Youth: and that is, the ability to make a person young again. The natives told De Leon he could find it on the island of Bimini, so he went looking for it. He naturally thought it was a story of the natives; didn't even think it might've been actually borrowed from his own culture. He eventually came to Florida, which he mistook as an island at that time. Of course, he failed to find the fountain."

Xiao Lang gazed at his cousin with his mouth open. When Eriol clearly didn't have anything else to say, he ran his tongue over his dry lips and said, "That's it?"

"That's it," Eriol assured him. "That's all I've heard." He placed his hands on his hips, and surveyed the room. Xiao Lang followed his gaze. "Now, as for your own quest, I will allow you to search my library. As you may have noticed, I've decided to put my library in alphabetical order according to title instead of by author. Personally, I find it more efficient. Some people might not agree, but there you go. The first half of the English alphabet is here, and the second half is in the other room-"

"The other room?" Xiao Lang squeaked. His face became distinctly whiter.

"Yes, the other room," said Eriol, nodding for extra emphasis. "Books in other languages are interspersed on the shelves; I stuck them in with whatever the first letter might've been in an English translation."

"Maybe it would've been a better idea to put them in order according to author after all," Xiao Lang said. A slight squeak lingered in his voice.

Eriol only shrugged as he placed a hand on the shelf of M's. "Other than that, I can offer you no more help. Nakuru and I shall be working on getting those light bulbs installed, though I'm sure Nakuru would be glad to cook you anything you want when you get hungry."

Xiao Lang's stomach gave a rumble in answer. Eriol grinned, and placed a hand on a golden yellow book. Xiao Lang couldn't see the title which was gold embossed into the spine.

"Xiao Lang," said Eriol. He pulled the boy's attention away from the golden yellow book. "I do not believe your mother really sent you on a search to find the Fountain of Youth. Remember, the fountain has the power to reverse age, but it also has healing powers that give strength to its drinker. I believe that is what your mother really wants you to find, Xiao Lang. Strength."

And with that, Eriol pulled the book off the shelf. The L shelf and the M shelf swung outwards, allowing Eriol to pass through. Xiao Lang caught a glimpse of the second room before it swung shut.

88888888

Author's Notes: Thank you for reaching the end of the second chapter. The third chapter was originally part of this chapter, but I thought that it got too long, and changed it. The third chapter is shorter than this one; it just seemed appropriate to end it at this point. Also, thanks, crazy daisy. I'm glad you found the story interesting.


	3. In The Second Room

Fountain of Age

Summary: AU. Syaoran and Eriol are on the trail of the Fountain of Youth... a trail that would lead them inevitably to Tomoeda... and Sakura...

Disclaimer: I don't own Card Captor Sakura. None of it: manga, anime, little plushie Keros; I own nothing.

========

Chapter 3: In The Second Room…

========

Xiao Lang's search continued in vain. _Fountains of the World _turned out to be about the world's most famous _man made_ fountains; the kind you found in town squares or parks. Xiao Lang didn't really think the Fountain of Youth would fit under that category and the author seemed to agree. There was no mention of the Fountain of Youth in _Fountains of the World_. He wedged it back into place.

There were no other books on fountains. He checked the B's for Bimini, the other F's for Florida, and even the C's for Catholicism. None of the books he found yielded anything new about the Fountain of Youth. If they had any information at all, it was what Eriol had already told him, but more specific, with dates and even pictures.

Xiao Lang tried to push his panic down. What if the book he was looking for did not have Fountain of Youth, Florida, Catholicism, or whatever, in it's title? How would he ever find it then?

His head started to hurt when he was halfway down the H's (_Headaches_). Maybe he was allergic to the dust. Or books. Or the Fountain of Youth. Whatever the cause, he took a break, and nipped into the kitchen for lunch. Nakuru was there, and with a worried glance at his ashen face, gave him a plate of sandwiches to bring to the library. They were very dry, and felt rather funny in his mouth.

Once the distraction of the sandwiches were gone, Xiao Lang was hit by dizziness. He didn't know where to pick the search back up again; there were so many books, and he'd run out of key words to check for. He felt incapable of thought, except for a single desperate one: find the fountain. At all costs.

His eyes found themselves on a golden yellow book on the M shelf. It read, _Move the Bookcase_. Xiao Lang rattled off a laugh, but groaned when his head protested. It was the book Eriol had been holding when he'd gone to the second room. Maybe a change of scenery might cure him. If he was lucky, there would be something helpful in the W's (for water). Or the R's, for remedies to headaches.

He pulled on the book, and marveled as the L shelf and the M shelf swung out without dropping a single page. It was probably why the books were crammed so close to each other: so they wouldn't bury Eriol when he pulled _Move the Bookcase_. Xiao Lang wondered if _Move the Bookcase_ had any content in it, but, as he couldn't get it out of the shelf, he decided it was empty, and the endeavor pointless. Probably like the quest for the fountain.

Gloom seemed to consume him. He tried not to imagine what his mother could do to him. "Strength," Eriol had said. "Strength." With that encouraging (but throbbing) thought, Xiao Lang entered the second room. It was an exact copy of the first room except the window's placement (now it blinded him with pure sunlight from somewhere slightly to his right instead of his far left) and an empty, black, fireplace complete with customary large, red, reading chair.

But what stole his attention was the painting over the fireplace. It was of a fair woman with long, light brown hair. She was fitting a pearl earring in her ear. Her eyes were just as expressive as the ones in the kitchen, but they failed to watch him. Instead, they were fixed on a point; a point on the shelf. Xiao Lang followed her eyes. They rested on a white book, about as thin as _Fountains of the World_. He stepped towards the book, slowly, as if it would jump off the shelf and attack him. Could it be...?

_Youth_. The title was simply _Youth_. A short title, written in loopy gold. He pried it off the shelf (the books weren't so crammed on the shelf on this side), and checked the author. Kaho Mizuki.

Xiao Lang flipped through the book, catching a few words here and there. A girl... a boy… a small town... hatred… Japan... Pointless rubbish! He was just about to stuff it, angrily, back onto the shelf, when it fell open to a bookmarked page.

The left page featured an intricate drawing. It seemed to be composed of black dots that oddly resembled raindrops against a blank white background. Otherwise, he couldn't tell what it was. He gazed at the caption for help.

_Fuente de Ponce de Leon._

Ponce de Leon. Was this it? He only knew rudimentary Spanish; enough to know that de meant "from." Fuente was Spanish for something... Unless Xiao Lang was just getting more desperate than ever, the word was looking a lot like the word fountain... The fountain of Ponce de Leon... the Fountain of Youth?!

He threw a look at the picture. To his eyes, the black dots were reshaping themselves into something that resembled a fountain. A man made fountain, certainly, but maybe the meaning was just symbolic. It left no doubt in his mind, in any case: this book was the one his mother was talking about.

Excited, he turned to the right hand page, and was confronted with a handwritten note. It was on an extra piece of paper, tucked into the book upside down. Xiao Lang turned it right side up to read the words. It was written in Japanese. Without bravado, without flourish, it simply read:

_"Try to find me in Tomoeda."_

========

Nakuru was serving tea when Xiao Lang appeared with a book in his hand from the depths of the lower hallway.

"Tomoeda," was all he could say. "The Fountain of Youth is in Tomoeda, Japan!" He seemed thoroughly surprised at his own good luck.

"You found it?!" exclaimed Nakuru, and she bounded forward to examine the book herself. Xiao Lang held it open to the page with the drawing and the note, and Nakuru read the note out loud, "'Try to find me in Tomoeda.'" She looked up at Eriol to see what he had to say.

Eriol sipped his tea solemnly before turning to address Xiao Lang's findings. "Tomoeda, Japan huh?" he said, between sips. "Tell me, do you know where that is?"

"Eriol!" Nakuru scolded.

"What?" Eriol looked surprised at his housekeeper's reaction. "I want to know if Xiao Lang knows where that is."

"I don't know," his cousin answered truthfully. Where was this Tomoeda, Japan? He glanced at Nakuru who seemed absolutely upset at her employer.

"Well, I'll tell you, even if Eriol doesn't want to," Nakuru said, casting Eriol a disappointed look. "It's a small town near Tokyo. I should know. All Eriol ever talks about is Tomoeda; he used to live there."

"Eriol used to live there?"

"A very long time ago," said his housekeeper. "Now, let me see that book." Xiao Lang handed it over, and she immediately flipped through the pages at lightning speed.

"So, how did you come up with the idea that the Fountain of Youth is in Tomoeda, Japan?" Eriol asked his relative.

His housekeeper interrupted. "There's a picture!" she gasped. "There's a picture of a fountain!" She shoved it in front of his face, causing the note to take flight.

"Yes, Nakuru, I see it," said Eriol, calmly. He was still drinking his tea. "Now let Xiao Lang answer the question."

"There's a caption!" Nakuru continued, almost deaf to Eriol's orders. She read it to him, interpreting it correctly and just brimming with excitement.

"Yes, yes." He stood up and started to clean the dining table. "But how did Xiao Lang come up with that answer, Nakuru? Let him speak."

"It was the note, Eriol, the note," said his cousin. "I'm sure it's talking about the fountain."

"What makes you think that?" asked Eriol. He stooped to pick up the note while he was heading for the kitchen sink. He paused while he read the note, the china balancing in his other hand.

"The fountain is in Tomoeda, Eriol. It must be." Nakuru gazed at him expectantly. It struck Xiao Lang that she was practically begging Eriol to agree with her.

Eriol placed the china in the kitchen sink. The two breathlessly waited for his response. Xiao Lang felt utterly bewildered. It was as though it was Nakuru who was seeking the Fountain of Youth; not him. Once again, he felt overwhelmed by his cousin's forceful housekeeper.

Eriol turned to them, and grinned. "Fine. We're headed for Tomoeda."

========

Author's Notes: Thank you for reviewing, ChibiYuffie1. Thanks especially, for your patience. They're coming in the next chapter.

Additionally, there is magic in this story, as you might've noticed. It seemed inevitable, considering that the boys are chasing a magical object. Still, the rules are different from the original CCS, and they will be explained as necessary. There are no cards.


	4. In Transit

Fountain of Age

Summary: AU. Syaoran and Eriol are on the trail of the Fountain of Youth... a trail that would lead them inevitably to Tomoeda... and Sakura...

Disclaimer: I don't own Card Captor Sakura. None of it: manga, anime, little plushie Keros; I own nothing.

========

Chapter 4: In Transit...

========

Nakuru was serving tea when Xiao Lang appeared with a book in his hand from the depths of the lower hallway.

"Tomoeda," was all he could say. "The Fountain of Youth is in Tomoeda, Japan!" He seemed thoroughly surprised at his own good luck.

"You found it?!" exclaimed Nakuru, and she bounded forward to examine the book herself. Xiao Lang held it open to the page with the drawing, and Nakuru read the note out loud, "'Try to find me in Tomoeda.'" She looked up at Eriol to see what he had to say.

Eriol sipped his tea solemnly before turning to address Xiao Lang's findings. "Tomoeda, Japan huh?" he said, between sips. "Tell me, do you know where that is?"

"Eriol!" Nakuru scolded.

"What?" Eriol looked surprised at his housekeeper's reaction. "I want to know if Xiao Lang knows where that is."

"I don't know," his cousin answered truthfully. Where was this Tomoeda, Japan? He glanced at Nakuru who seemed absolutely upset at her employer.

"Well, I'll tell you, even if Eriol doesn't want to," Nakuru said, casting Eriol a disappointed look. "It's a small town near Tokyo. I should know. All Eriol ever talks about is Tomoeda; he used to live there."

"Eriol used to live there?"

"A very long time ago," said his housekeeper. "Now, let me see that book." Xiao Lang handed it over, and she immediately flipped through the pages at lightning speed.

"So, how did you come up with the idea that the Fountain of Youth is in Tomoeda, Japan?" Eriol asked his relative.

His housekeeper interrupted. "There's a picture!" she gasped. "There's a picture of a fountain!" She shoved it in front of his face, causing the note to take flight.

"Yes, Nakuru, I see it," said Eriol, calmly. He was still drinking his tea. "Now let Xiao Lang answer the question."

"There's a caption!" Nakuru continued, almost deaf to Eriol's orders. She read it to him, interpreting it correctly and just brimming with excitement.

"Yes, yes." He stood up and started to clean the dining table. "But how did Xiao Lang come up with that answer, Nakuru? Let him speak."

"It was the note, Eriol, the note," said his cousin. "I'm sure it's talking about the fountain."

"What makes you think that?" asked Eriol. He stooped to pick up the note while he was heading for the kitchen sink. He paused while he read it, the china balancing in his other hand.

"The fountain is in Tomoeda, Eriol. It must be." Nakuru gazed at him expectantly. It struck Xiao Lang that she was practically begging his cousin to agree with her.

Eriol placed the china in the kitchen sink. The two breathlessly waited for his response. Xiao Lang felt utterly bewildered. It was as though it was Nakuru who was seeking the Fountain of Youth; not him. Once again, he felt overwhelmed by his cousin's forceful housekeeper.

Eriol turned to them, and grinned. "Fine. We're headed for Tomoeda."

========

That night, Xiao Lang readied all of his things. There wasn't much to pack since he'd only been in England for one day and hadn't taken most of his stuff out in the first place. Everything that had happened had occurred so quickly, he was in shock. He couldn't believe his brain had been melting in the library just hours ago, and now Eriol was ordering tickets for a flight to Tokyo. That's right: _Tickets_. Plural.

"Nakuru and I are coming with you," Eriol had said, earlier that day, picking up a stuffed cat off the table in the hall. He led Xiao Lang to the large master bedroom the boy had seen earlier that morning and buried the cat into the depths of a black bag.

"Buh-buh-but, you don't have to!" protested Xiao Lang. Didn't Eriol call this hunt a waste of time?

His cousin just smiled, thoroughly amused. "It's all right. You should be glad we're coming with you, Xiao Lang. For one thing, you won't have to get a hotel. I have a house in Tomoeda we can use."

"You have a house in Tomoeda?" Xiao Lang asked incredulously. How could a fourteen year old own a house? Telling from his London house, Eriol was rich, but how rich? Xiao Lang, heir of the Li clan, didn't have a house of his own, and his family owned half of Hong Kong.

"Yes," said Eriol. "It's a really nice house. In fact, it looks a lot like this one."

"But, what about your parents?"

"My parents?" Eriol seemed taken aback.

"His parents?!" Nakuru shrieked. She'd come in with a laundry basket in her arms, and her eyes so huge, the whites were clear all the way around. She tripped over Eriol's bag and fell to the ground with a thud. "Ouch!"

"Sorry, sir," she said, tearfully once Eriol had helped her up.

"No problem," her employer replied.

This was not the response Xiao Lang had been expecting. "Well," he worked to defend himself, "considering that Eriol's a minor and all..."

"My parents are dead," said Eriol, without emotion. "They've been dead for a long time. Didn't you know?"

"I guess not," Xiao Lang replied darkly, tucking his chin in so that he was looking at his cousin through his bangs. He wished his hair had been long enough to cover him. Then he wouldn't have to watch Eriol's expression. He was certain that he was dredging up bad memories for his cousin. "So-so you live all alone?"

"I don't live alone," answered Eriol. "I live with Nakuru and Supi." Supi being the cat he'd put in his bag. He dug the thing back up and proceeded to try and poke him with it.

Now packing, Xiao Lang sighed. He opened his bag and stuffed his toothbrush inside. He was costing Eriol a lot; much more than he had intended.

He let his mind drift back to his quest: the search for the Fountain of Youth. Excitement welled up inside him. He was going to Tomoeda, he was one more step closer to his goal...

"_Try to find me in Tomoeda._"

That note. It was such a strange note. The wording had been thoroughly ambiguous. Xiao Lang knew that; he'd known it as soon as he'd read the note the second time around. Still, it was his only lead and he had no choice but to follow it. That's why he'd gone to Eriol with the idea. And his cousin had taken it.

Still, something about the note bothered him. "_Try to find me in Tomoeda_," it had said, so who was "me"? Xiao Lang had assumed it was the fountain, but was it really? It could've been the writer of the note's self or the author of the book. Come to think of it, why was the note in that book of all books? Xiao Lang thought back to how he had found it, how he had followed that painting's distinct eyes directly to it... He slapped his head. He'd nearly forgotten the painting! He decided he'd take a better look at it before he left.

And then, (another thought struck him as he was putting his socks away,) assuming "me" wasn't referring to the fountain, who would the note-writer be addressing? Why would they be asking to be found? Were they hiding? And why would they be hiding?

There was a loud banging at his door. "Syaoran!" Nakuru's voice sauntered through the door, excited. "Eriol's managed to get tickets for a flight at midnight! Get ready to leave!"

"What?" Xiao Lang started, upsetting his bag. It flopped over uselessly. "Oh..." It was so soon. The search was really picking up speed now... he could almost see the fountain right before his eyes... he would prove his qualifications to his mother, and he wouldn't have to be disowned!

========

"Good morning class," said Mr. Terrada cheerfully. "May I introduce our exchange students; from England no less! This is Hiiragizawa Eriol and Li Syaoran. Welcome them to Tomoeda!"

"Welcome to Tomoeda!" the class chorused, and they broke off into separate conversations. It seemed as if the students were talking about the two of them; at least that's what Syaoran guessed from all the eyes that shifted towards them every now and then. He suddenly felt very self-conscious.

It had been Eriol's idea. The black haired boy had suggested, the night they had arrived in Tomoeda, that they "take advantage of Japan's world class education system." Syaoran had been so surprised he didn't object straight away, and when he finally did (arguing that he still needed to find the Fountain of Youth,) Eriol promptly told him that he'd taken the liberty of enrolling the both of them already and that the fountain would be found when it wanted to be found. So now, here Syaoran was, being scrutinized by the boys and girls of Mr. Terrada's eighth grade class.

"Now," the teacher turned to them, "where shall we sit you? Ah! There's a seat behind Ms. Kinomoto and another one behind Ms. Daidouji. Ladies, please raise your hands!"

The two girls in the second to the last row waved at them.

"Go on," Mr. Terrada prodded and Syaoran strolled down the aisle, Eriol right behind him.

Syaoran reached the girls' desks. The brown haired girl on his left gazed at him with a curious expression on her face while the black haired girl on his right smiled at him. "Hello," she said. "Your seats..." And she swept out her hands as if the desks were gifts.

He slumped into the desk behind the brown haired girl. He was not enthusiastic about this adventure at all; he could be trying to find the Fountain of Youth right now instead of listening to Mr. Terrada's voice go on and on about English proper nouns. He hadn't even figured out what he should do next...

Eriol smiled and nodded at both girls, first the one on his right and the one on his left. He slipped into the seat next to Syaoran and actually said, "Isn't this exciting?!"

Syaoran snorted and proceeded to be bored for the rest of the day. His cousin, on the one hand, seemed hardly capable of containing himself. He wouldn't stop moving and he kept looking at Syaoran with such a knowing look, bobbing his eyes brows pointedly. Syaoran wanted to deck him. Eriol was just too weird.

"You never noticed?" his cousin asked at break.

"Noticed what?" Syaoran snapped, having had enough of those black eyebrows going up and down.

Eriol shook his head, then turned to the two girls seated in front of them. "Excuse me, ladies," he said sweetly, and the two in question stopped talking to listen to him.

"My name is Hiiragizawa Eriol, pleased to meet you." Eriol wouldn't stop grinning.

The girls smiled back and the black haired girl said, "I am Daidouji Tomoyo and this is Kinomoto Sakura." The brown haired girl, Sakura, nodded at the sound of her name.

If possible, this caused Eriol's grin to expand. He addressed Sakura in particular. "My fair lady, I was wondering if I could treat you to dinner? Saturday night perhaps?"

Syaoran felt his jaw drop. Where did Eriol get off? It was only the first day!

Sakura, for her part, looked equally shocked, roses blooming in her cheeks. She hadn't dropped her jaw, at least.

"I'm new to the country," added Eriol, "and I want to find the best restaurant around. You wouldn't happen to know a place, would you?"

Her friend, Tomoyo, simply giggled. "Yeah," she said, "we know a place."

Eriol shifted his gaze to her, still smiling. "We can make it a double date. You can come along, and Syaoran can escort you." And before Syaoran knew it, Eriol had dragged him forward. He nearly choked.

Tomoyo giggled all the more. "Sakura," she whispered to her friend. "Sakura, answer the boy." She pushed the girl forward. Eriol let go of Syaoran to catch her.

"Uh..." Sakura managed, her eyes squeezed shut. Syaoran didn't think Eriol's arms was where she wanted to be.

"It's okay," Eriol assured her, helping her stand. "Don't need to rush your answer."

Tomoyo shook her head and grabbed her friend's arm with gusto. "We'll come along!" she declared. "We accept your invitation."

========

Author's Notes: Well, there you go. Tomoyo and Sakura. Thank you so much crazy daisy, ChibiYuffie1, and Midi Tenshi for reviewing! You guys are the best!!


	5. In Preparation

Fountain of Age

Summary: AU. Syaoran and Eriol are on the trail of the Fountain of Youth... a trail that would lead them inevitably to Tomoeda... and Sakura...

Disclaimer: I don't own Card Captor Sakura. None of it: manga, anime, little plushie Keros; I own nothing.

========

Chapter 5: In Preparation...

========

"You have a lot of guts, did you know that?!" yelled Syaoran when they'd returned home that day.

Eriol was practically skipping after inviting Sakura to dinner. Syaoran, meanwhile, was still stinging from the fact that Eriol had managed to string Tomoyo and himself along in the process. But all Eriol could say was, "Yes, yes. I have lots of guts." He giggled like a schoolgirl.

This just worsened Syaoran's mood. He started to stomp off to his room.

"You really didn't notice?" Eriol asked him quietly.

"Notice what?!" Syaoran yelled.

But the older boy would do nothing but shake his head. "Wait and see then."

"Fine."

========

As the days rolled forward and became Saturday, Kinomoto Sakura seemed to warm up to the date idea.

"She was a bit afraid you see," Tomoyo explained to the boys while their class was making ice cream. Sakura was, at the moment, helping Mr. Terrada pass cones out to the class. "Her brother's strict about who she can date, especially while their dad's gone."

"So, her brother let her go?" Syaoran asked.

"Not a chance," said Tomoyo with a giggle. "He's just going to be too busy working to notice that she's gone. He's in college now and he's got tons of homework."

"But-"

"Tomoyo!" the girl in question shouted. "What flavor do you want?"

"Vanilla's fine!" Tomoyo hollered back and Sakura nodded before retrieving the ice cream.

"If her brother doesn't want her to go on the date," Syaoran reasoned, "then she shouldn't. I'm sure Eriol doesn't want her to get in trouble."

"Mmm," said Eriol, slumped all over his desk.

"Mmm?!" Syaoran repeated, blowing up. "What does 'mmm' mean? You want her to get in trouble?!"

"Here you go Tomoyo." Sakura bounced towards them, with an ice cream cone for Tomoyo. She turned to the boys, her wide green eyes filled with curiosity. "What's this about me in trouble?" she asked.

Syaoran instantly wished he hadn't been so loud. "N-nothing..."

"Thanks for the ice cream, Sakura," said Tomoyo. "It's good!"

"Isn't it?" Sakura smiled eagerly. She turned back to Syaoran and Eriol. "What would you boys like?"

"Chocolate," chose Eriol, his jaw pushing him off the desk.

"Strawberry, I guess," answered Syaoran. He glared at his cousin who wouldn't look at him.

"Chocolate and strawberry ice cream it is!" Sakura sang, and she went back to Mr. Terrada, his scooper and the ice cream buckets.

When she had exited hearing range, Eriol sighed. "She's so sweet."

Syaoran rolled his eyes.

========

He had forgotten to do it at the London house. He had thought, for a moment, that it was a lost opportunity, but at the sight of Eriol's house, hope swelled in him. Eriol's Tomoeda house was an _exact duplicate_ of his London house except for a big black fence, and a thriving garden out back. Certainly, the library painting was here?

When Syaoran had entered the house, he immediately looked into the kitchen for the ruined painting. It was present and accounted for. He was sure they hadn't taken any paintings to the airport back in London, so this had to be a copy. It was almost as if the house had flown to Tomoeda with them, or that London had simply melted to become this small Japanese town.

"Told you it was like the London house," Eriol had said, his trademark grin flashing.

So now, he could look at the portrait in the library's second room. Syaoran had been busy all week, working on his homework, strolling around Tomoeda, trying to figure out what to do next. He was no closer to finding the Fountain of Youth than he had been in England.

In any case, he didn't want to look at the painting while Eriol was in there, and he had been in there a lot, sitting in that hard backed chair, staring into the fire (which he lit, despite everything), never moving. Syaoran chalked it up as another one of Eriol's many eccentricities which included his bulbless house (yes, even the Tomoeda house), the painting in the kitchen, and the alphabetized-by-title library.

Another eccentricity was the fact that the second room had a conventional door, just like the first room. You didn't have to pull on _Move the Bookcase_ every single time you wanted to enter the second room; you just had to open the door farther down the hallway. Why would Eriol build two doors? Building the bookcases to swing like that was pretty cool, but unnecessary.

It was nearly Saturday evening when Syaoran entered the library's second room. Light the shade of pure honey glided through the window. Syaoran wasted no time in approaching the painting; he and Eriol were going to fetch the girls in a few minutes.

And so there she was, hanging above the fireplace. Her expressive eyes weren't pinned on him, as always. She only had eyes for that bookshelf. Syaoran wondered if there was another copy of _Youth_ there; Eriol was reading the London one. He went to check and found the space empty. So, either there had never been a book there in the first place, or someone had taken that copy too. Syaoran hoped Eriol would return the book to him; he felt that it held some important clues.

He plopped himself into Eriol's chair and looked up to gaze on the woman's portrait. He wondered if she was real, or a vision of the painter. What made her smile like that? Did Eriol sit in his chair, just like this, and dream about her?

Who painted this wonderful vision of a woman?

Painters, he knew from his mother's own art collection, liked to sign their names in the bottom right hand corner. Did the painter do that? He searched the library for a stool so that he could examine the painting more closely. There was nothing but the chair he was sitting in. Would it be enough?

He dragged the chair closer to the fireplace and stood up on its soft seat. He was just the right height, and he blearily tried to figure out what was in the corner. There was a signature there, all right, penciled in English.

_Clow Reed._

"Syaoran!" Nakuru's voice called. "We're leaving!"

"Just a minute!" he called back, and went back to reading the painter's name. Clow Reed. It wasn't familiar at all, but he wondered whether the kitchen painting was done by the same person. It seemed assured, thanks to those distinctive eyes, but he needed to be positive.

"Syaoran!"

"Coming!" He bounced off the chair, and set it back in its original spot. He ran out of the door, checking to be sure he looked presentable. Syaoran marched down the hallway.

"There you are, come on," said Nakuru, standing at the door.

"I need to check something," he told her, and before she could say anything more, he sharply turned into the kitchen. Lucky for him this painting was set lower and there was no need for a stool to check the bottom right hand corner.

_Clow Reed._

========

Author's Notes: Thank you ChibiYuffie1 and Midi Tenshi for your continued support. CONTINUED SUPPORT! Wow, thank you so much!


	6. In The Restaurant

Fountain of Age

Summary: AU. Syaoran and Eriol are on the trail of the Fountain of Youth... a trail that would lead them inevitably to Tomoeda... and Sakura...

Disclaimer: I don't own Card Captor Sakura. None of it: manga, anime, little plushie Keros; I own nothing.

========

Chapter 6: In The Restaurant...

========

Nakuru was driving. In honor of the occasion, she had dressed herself in a chauffeur's outfit right out of the movies, although it was red instead of black. Heading in the direction of Sakura's house, Nakuru blasted catchy music from the speakers. Syaoran couldn't stop flinching; the music sounded too sugary for his health.

"Could you lower the volume?" Syaoran requested over the radio, shouting.

"No!" Nakuru answered.

"I was asking Eriol."

Eriol just grinned. "You heard Nakuru," he replied. He was quite unfazed to the music, despite the fact that he seemed to be sitting where the music was loudest. In his arms were a teddy bear and the stuffed cat, Supi.

"Are those for the girls?" his cousin asked.

"No," Eriol laughed. "They're for me."

"For you?"

"You'll see. Keep your eyes open."

Just when they were turning into Sakura's street, Eriol bolted upright, and the radio went haywire.

"Hey!" Nakuru twisted in her seat to dodge sparks. They dribbled down the front of the radio while the song shorted out. It was replaced by an angry buzzing.

The noise was deafening, and Syaoran found himself cowering in the backseat, hands over his ears. Eriol reached for the volume knob and turned it off. Sparks continued to rain down from the radio, and a small puff of smoke hovered over the dashboard.

It was a miracle then, that Nakuru managed to bring the car to a halt right before the Kinomoto house. The three passengers breathed heavy for a moment, the sparks still shooting.

"Syaoran," Eriol gasped, "go get the girls while Nakuru and I fix the radio."

Syaoran nodded. Shaking slightly, he left the car and vanished into the Kinomoto's garden.

Nakuru, on the one hand, slapped Eriol upside the head.

"Hey!" Eriol protested. "What was that for?"

"You could've killed me!" cried Nakuru, trying to slap him again. Eriol blocked, and she burst into bigger tears, beating on the steering wheel. Supi was looking embarrassed for her. "No consideration! No consideration at all!

Yeah, we know, you've got your motives, you had to fry up the radio for your petty reasons, but you didn't have to endanger us all!"

"Sorry," said Eriol and meaning it too.

"It's okay, Nakuru," Supi tried to comfort her. "Look, the radio's all fixed now." And so it was; almost as if it hadn't been smoking and sparking just a second ago.

"Still!" shrieked Nakuru, taking Supi from Eriol's bewildered arms and squeezing the animal's cheeks. "He could've burned my hair!"

========

When Syaoran rung the doorbell, excited shrieks reached his ears. Having not fully recovered from the radio incident, he nearly toppled over in shock. The door opened, and Syaoran came face to face with a smiling young man with grayish hair. He must've been no older than twenty.

"Hello," said the young man. "You must be Hiiragizawa. Just a moment."

"Oh, no, I'm-"

"Syaoran!" Sakura appeared in the crook of the young man's arm, dressed in white and pink. "You're right on time. Come on, Tomoyo, you're holding us all up."

"I'm almost done," Tomoyo's voice called.

"Tsk," said Sakura. She turned back to Syaoran, "We have to leave soon; before my brother comes home. He's going to kill you, and Hiiragizawa too."

"Well, I-I-"

"I shall make your excuses for you, Sakura." The gray haired man bowed.

"Thanks, Yukito," said Sakura. She seemed to have just realized that something was missing. "Where's Eriol?"

"In the car. He's-"

"All right, let's get moving." Tomoyo appeared in a white blouse and a long gray skirt. She looked quite mature, her black hair curling around her face and over her shoulders.

Syaoran and the two girls plodded down the steps to Eriol's car, excited. Or at least the girls were. Syaoran wondered if the radio had stopped sparking yet.

"Have fun!" called Yukito from the door frame.

"Bye Yukito!" Sakura and Tomoyo yelled, one after the other. Syaoran opened the door to the back seat and they piled in. He followed shortly, and was surprised at what he found.

Nakuru and Eriol were still in the front row of the car, and they did not look at all as if the radio had been going berserk earlier. In fact, a violin and a piano duet were playing quietly in the background.

"Ready to go?" Nakuru asked, and she set off down the road without waiting for an answer. Sakura directed her to a shopping center all the way across town.

"It's a phenomenal restaurant!" Sakura quipped about their destination. "It serves noodles!"

"But not just any old noodles," Tomoyo added. "They serve world noodles!"

"World noodles?"

"Noodles done in the Japanese way," Sakura listed. " Noodles in the Chinese way, Korea, Italy, France. All sorts; even England!"

"The owners traveled the world years ago," Tomoyo explained. " They collected recipes for soups and other noodle dishes. Now they serve those exact same dishes at their restaurant."

As Syaoran moved his eyes over the menu a few minutes later, he could see that they had spoken true. In a bout homesickness, he called for a Chinese dish that he hadn't had in the week he'd been globe trotting.

"Interesting choice," Tomoyo commented, looking over his shoulder at the picture of what he'd picked.

"I haven't had this in a long time," Syaoran confessed.

Tomoyo examined his face with a smile. "You're Chinese, aren't you? Only that, Mr. Terrada introduced both you and Eriol as Londoners."

"Via London," Syaoran explained. "I'm actually from Hong Kong. I was just visiting Eriol in London. He's my cousin."

"Your cousin, huh?" Tomoyo smiled at Eriol, who was eating across from Syaoran. "That's interesting. You don't look like cousins."

"We're not first cousins if that's what you're thinking," said Eriol. "The relation's actually pretty weak. We're only seventh cousins." He smiled at his own dinner date, Sakura, who was sitting next to him. He seemed so taken with her, it made Syaoran a little sick at how gooey his cousin was being.

But little, innocent Sakura, had no idea. "Wow," she said, astonished. "You counted out that far?"

"Syaoran's family, the Li family, keeps very detailed family trees," explained Eriol.

"Your family must be very powerful to keep records like that," Sakura said to Li.

"Well, uh, I guess so." Syaoran blushed, fighting to stay modest.

"So, Sakura, what about your family?" asked Eriol.

"Well, in my family, there's my dad, my brother Touya, and Yukito," said Sakura. "My brother is seven years older than me and he attends college in Tokyo."

"He also likes to call her monster," laughed Tomoyo.

"Hmph!" Sakura shot Tomoyo a wounded look. "My brother is cruel, and he never stops teasing me! Even if I'm going into high school soon."

"Is Yukito your brother too?" Syaoran asked.

"Nah, Yukito's our housekeeper," said Sakura. "But he's practically like family..."

"And your dad?" asked Eriol.

"My dad's an archaeologist," explained Sakura. "He specializes in architecture. Ancient, modern, whatever. He's always on trips to see buildings. He's seen pyramids, ruins, walls-"

"Fountains?" Syaoran said faintly. He just remembered Sakura's last name.

"Yeah, fountains," Sakura nodded. "How'd you know?"

"Did he write a book called _Fountains of the World_?"

"Yeah," said Sakura. "People really like that one. It's been translated in a few languages, I think."

"Where is he now?" Eriol asked.

"He's studying in England, actually."

"And he's coming back, when?"

The girl brightened considerably. "Three weeks, and three days!" she declared with a smile. She obviously couldn't wait until her father came home.

"What's he studying again, Sakura?" asked Tomoyo. "Stonehenge?"

The brown haired girl thought about it. "Maybe," she said, uncertainly. "I can't remember. He's goes on too many trips for me to keep track. I'll ask my brother later."

"What about your mother?" Syaoran asked, a noodle halfway to his mouth.

There was a moment of silence except for a long slurp from Tomoyo.

"Oh," said Sakura. "My mother's dead."

Syaoran couldn't believe his insensitivity. He'd done the same thing to Eriol. "Oh, shoot," he said. "I'm sorry." He had the strong urge to hide under the table.

"Yeah, she died when I was three," said Sakura. "Don't really remember her, but my dad talks about her a lot."

========

Sakura and Tomoyo, it turned out, were great fans of catchy music, and, when dinner was over, Nakuru drove them home with her favorite radio station playing. It was louder than the violin music, but not as loud as their first trip to Sakura's house. Clearly, the earlier incident was still on her mind. Syaoran couldn't help but notice that she kept checking on Eriol next to her. He, on the one hand, was still clutching that bear and the cat.

"Oh, Tomoyo's house is near here," Sakura piped in, pointing at the silhouette of a mansion behind some trees. "Why don't we just drop you off, Tomoyo? So your mom doesn't have to come pick you up anymore."

"Sure, why not?" said Tomoyo, glancing at Eriol and Nakuru for their approval. Eriol nodded and Nakuru headed for Tomoyo's house. "That way, she won't have to look at all those pictures of your mom." And the two girls burst out laughing.

Syaoran was confused. "What?"

"My mom and Sakura's mom are- well, _were_- friends," explained Tomoyo. "Mom still blames Sakura's dad for the death, even though he didn't do anything to cause it."

"She's always getting teary eyed at the pictures all over the house," Sakura said, wrinkling her nose.

"Unless, you dad's around," said Tomoyo. "Then she gets angry." And the two girls laughed some more.

"Daidouji residence," Nakuru announced, as they came to a halt in front of the mansion's double doors. "Watch your step."

Eriol undid his seatbelt. "I'll walk you to the door," Eriol said, exiting the car.

The three passengers in the back were mystified into stillness.

"Oh, you don't have to do that," Tomoyo said as she reached for her handbag next to Sakura.

"But I insist," Eriol said, and he offered Tomoyo a hand.

She looked at it as if it was an alien object. Then, she smiled, and shook her head.

"An arm then," offered Eriol. This Tomoyo accepted.

"I needed to thank you," Eriol whispered as they climbed the steps to the door. "Sakura wouldn't have come if you hadn't volunteered her."

"She would've accepted your offer eventually," said Tomoyo. "Just her brother." They walked up the steps, enjoying the cool spring air.

"It's clear that you love her."

Eriol didn't articulate his feelings. He simply smiled. "I only wish I could walk her up to her house too," he said, with a trace of bitterness.

They'd reached the doors. Tomoyo stopped him just before he rang the doorbell. "Why can't you?"

Eriol pressed the doorbell. The sound reverberated inside the house. Out here, where the sound was dulled by the thick gray walls, Eriol felt that Tomoyo would humor him. He stood straighter. "Because," Eriol said in a serious voice, his eyes glittering, "there is an evil spirit in the Kinomoto house." Then he broke out a grin to show that he was joking.

Surprisingly, Tomoyo clasped both his hands in hers, and held them to her chest. "I understand," she said.

That was something Eriol wasn't expecting. Tomoyo dropped his hands, and smiled. "Don't expect any kisses," she said, winking.

"I wasn't," he assured her, as a maid opened the door. He was still somewhat stunned.

Tomoyo said nothing to this, and instead, turned away, her hair swishing. She vanished into the house.

========

Author's Notes: Thank you very much to fae and ChibiYuffie1. I'm very grateful that anyone at all would write a review despite laziness, hesitation, and/or anything else. I have trouble writing reviews myself.


	7. In Sakura's Garden

Fountain of Age

Summary: AU. Syaoran and Eriol are on the trail of the Fountain of Youth... a trail that would lead them inevitably to Tomoeda... and Sakura...

Disclaimer: I don't own Card Captor Sakura. None of it: manga, anime, little plushie Keros; I own nothing.

========

Chapter 7: In Sakura's Garden...

========

On the way to Sakura's house, the radio fritzed again. Sparks poured like water, smoke spouted upwards and Nakuru glared at Eriol so hard, it was surprising that he hadn't shriveled up in fright yet.

"Go," she ordered Syaoran. "Take Sakura back to her house."

The two teenagers exited the car, frazzled.

Sakura was shaken in particular, since she hadn't been present when the radio had acted up the first time. "What are the chances of that?"

"Apparently greater than we thought," muttered Syaoran as he led Sakura up to her door. It was certain that the radio's sudden malfunctioning wasn't an accident. Something was going on. Something beyond his abilities.

"Well," Sakura said, with a smile, "it was very kind of your cousin to invite us to dinner."

"Yeah," said Syaoran, and he felt compelled to mirror her smile, letting his mind stray from the quirky radio. "I just hope your brother doesn't kill you."

Sakura laughed, understandably. "Oh, don't worry," she assured him. "He just missed the bus, and hasn't got enough money for a taxi. He won't get home in a while."

"Huh?" Syaoran managed, giving her a confused look. "Did-did you take his money so he couldn't get home?"

She laughed again, and stepped closer to him. Her voice dropped just the slightest. "I'm not that mean," Sakura said, and she frowned at the thought of her brother. "Even if he is mean to me. No, I just know because I know; you know."

"No, I don't know," said Syaoran, and he took a step back away from her. Something was going on, and he hated the fact that he was completely clueless about it.

"Didn't you notice?" asked Sakura, now confused. Her words rang his ears, almost like an echo of someone else's words. Eriol's words. So Sakura noticed it too! But what in the world-

BOOM! There was an explosion, and the cinder blocks that formed the wall around Sakura's house splintered as if they were nothing but pencils.

"What the-?!"

It was a teddy bear. A teddy bear pretending to be Godzilla. It was doing a good impression too; in mere seconds, Sakura's garden was in complete ruins.

The teddy bear turned its horrible beady little eyes on the tiny girl on the steps. It's threaded lips were frozen in a sickening smile. Slowly, as if having trouble with its joints, it brought it's arm up.

Syaoran knew what it was about to do. "Watch out!" he yelled at Sakura. He grabbed her arm and hauled her closer to the door.

There was a swish as the arm broke the walkway in the exact spot they'd been standing in.

Syaoran pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. "Lightning!" A white hot bolt shot out. A black circle appeared where it struck the bear on the shoulder. But it was as if the bolt was a tiny fly: the bear was completely unfazed. Instead, it set its beady eyes on Syaoran.

"No!" Sakura shouted, and she pulled a pink stick out of seemingly nowhere. "It needs to be stronger! Lightning!"

A streak of light smacked the bear right on its ear. Shielding his eyes from the brightness, Syaoran watched the bear frizzle with the electricity, then topple over. It was tipping away from them... and towards Eriol's car!

"Shrink!" yelled Sakura, and she pointed the pink stick at the bear. The stuffed animal pulled in on itself. For a moment Syaoran lost sight of it. All he could hear was the cracking sound the branches made as it fell.

Sakura rushed forward to meet it. She swung the pink stick behind her. "Fire!" Its starry end flared to life. "Incinerate!" She connected with the bear. It was catapulted into the light of the moon where it disintegrate into nothing.

And just like that, it was over.

Sakura wiped her forehead. "Phew!" She turned to Syaoran who looked back blankly. She smiled.

"You know magic," stated Syaoran, and the truth of these words dawned on him.

She hugged the pink stick to her chest, and he could clearly see the encircled star on its tip. It was a wand.

========

The violin music seemed to fit the occasion perfectly. It was a bit like a dance, watching the bear destroy Sakura's garden, then try to attack the two teenagers.

"Ugh!" cried Nakuru, craning her head out the car window. "I can't see a thing! The bushes are blocking my way."

Eriol snorted. He had his eyes closed, and Nakuru knew that he was watching the events as if they were pasted on the inside of his eyelids.

"Supi, order the bear to cut off those bushes!" Nakuru knocked on the car roof. Supi, who was sitting on top, gazed at her with disdain.

"No. Eriol's orders were specifically to terrify the children."

"Eriol!"

"It doesn't matter, Nakuru," said Eriol. "It's almost over."

As if on cue, the bear popped into the air, and wasted away in the breeze.

Nakuru clapped enthusiastically. "Wow!" she said. "She's awesome!!"

"She's awesome," agreed her master, finally opening his eyes. "She didn't even need the help of her housekeeper."

"Or that bear," added Supi from his perch.

"Yes." Eriol nodded, and smiled in the direction of the garden. "Sakura's going to be something someday."

"Children grow up so fast," Nakuru told Eriol, fondly.

"It's been a long time, Nakuru," Eriol said, with a roll of his eyes. "Of course Sakura'd grow up."

"W-"

"Quiet," said Eriol quickly, and he pointed at a dark shape hurtling toward them.

It was Syaoran. His face was contorted with anger.

"What was that?!" he yelled at Eriol's window, which was up, perhaps to protect him at this very moment.

"What was what?" Eriol asked, innocently, his voice muffled by the glass. Behind him, Nakuru reached up, and hid Supi out of Syaoran's sight.

"That thing LOOKED EXACTLY like your bear," Syaoran hissed, eyes narrow in accusation. "YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS."

"Well, you couldn't see it for yourself," Eriol said, shortly. "I had to show you."

"Wha-what?"

"Nakuru," said Eriol.

"Yes?"

"State the laws of detecting magic."

"Aye aye!" Nakuru saluted Eriol with a smile and a wink. "All magicians can detect magic. They can detect magic in other magicians if the magician in question is, one, weaker than the magician doing the detecting and/or, two, purposefully exhibiting his or her magic. Strong magicians can, however, overcome that, and hide their magic-"

"Stop!" Eriol declared, and he glared at his housekeeper. "I didn't ask for the whole thing."

"Oops," Nakuru said sheepishly. "Sorry."

Silence. Nakuru and Eriol both watched Syaoran expectantly.

He looked like the wind had been taken out of his sails. The one thing he'd never told anyone… Eriol knew; the eyes behind the glass were telling him so.

"L-lack of practice," Syaoran excused.

"Oh please," dismissed Eriol. "It's only been a week. There isn't any time for your magic to lessen."

Syaoran's nails cut into his palms, his fists balled. He refused to say anything. He felt as if his cousin was playing with him.

"You never noticed," Eriol said, quietly. "You never noticed that Sakura had magic because she has more magic than you. And she's not even the heir to one of the greatest magic clans in Asia."

Syaoran remembered that strange look Sakura had given him on his first day of school. She must've noticed. And he hadn't.

But this incident also proved one other thing: Eriol was a magician. The teddy bear, the fact that he knew about Sakura; he had to be. And he was a more powerful magician than Syaoran could fathom. Maybe even stronger than Sakura. No, Eriol WAS stronger. Otherwise, he wouldn't know about Sakura's magic. Sakura had never mentioned Eriol; either it meant the topic just hadn't come up or she hadn't noticed at all. But somehow, Syaoran felt that if Sakura had noticed Eriol's magic, she would've said something.

"How," Eriol wanted to know, "could the Li heir allow himself to be such a second rate magician?"

Syaoran bowed his head in shame. Stupid Eriol; exposing him like that.

"You ruined Sakura's garden," he said, lamely.

"Sakura's garden was never ruined," said Eriol. He shifted in his seat. "Come on. That's enough for the night."

========

Author's Notes: All right, I stole the teddy bear thing. Sorry. I've been seeing that fight in my head for too long. I couldn't possibly change it. (Maybe rubber duckies would've been better…)

Ahem, anyway, I extend my thanks my reviewers fae, inuyashafan65 (glad you like it), White-Destiny-Pure-Snow (I would suggest hiding the sugar) and ChibiYuffie1 (as always; Yay!). And lonelysparrow who's out there keeping track of me, apparently… waves

Additionally for fae who's extra long review deserves an extra long response: First off, you are far too kind, leaving me three paragraphs worth of comments. I'm glad you're really hooked on the plot; I just hope I covered all the holes. (Ouch!) Let's see… what can I give away, what can I give away… Okay, nothing obviously (and I've just wasted more of your time.)

Here's a hint though: It's all about perception. For instance, you want to know what makes Sakura special? Some people might say, at the end of this chapter, that it's because she's magically stronger than Syaoran. Some people might say that it's because of something greater. If you ask me, I'd say it's because she can make some of the weirdest clothes in history look all right. And if you ask some of the characters in this story (Syaoran and Eriol are noteworthy) you'd get different answers for that too…


	8. In Walking

Fountain of Age

Summary: AU. Syaoran and Eriol are on the trail of the Fountain of Youth... a trail that would lead them inevitably to Tomoeda... and Sakura...

Disclaimer: I don't own Card Captor Sakura. None of it: manga, anime, little plushie Keros; I own nothing.

========

Chapter 8: In Walking...

========

Syaoran tried to avoid Eriol for the rest of the weekend. He thought, for a moment, that it would be difficult, but Eriol didn't try to talk to him at all. It seemed as if Eriol knew that he needed to sort out his thoughts, which, he probably did. This tortured Syaoran to no end. He almost wished Eriol would bother him, try to talk to him, just so he could vent his anger. But he always followed this thought with a denial of it; in case Eriol could read minds. He wasn't positive of this. It was very hard to read minds; most people couldn't do it.

But, of course, Eriol wasn't most people.

Magic was not Syaoran's favorite thing. It had its many uses but, for the most part, was a real bother to study. It involved reading and reading endlessly in an ancient Chinese that involved extra books for translation. His mother, who supervised his education, kept him busy with other things too. She made sure he learned every self defense ever conceived; he learned how to use everything from his fists to swords. Tutors taught him math and the sciences, history, calligraphy and multiple languages: English, Japanese, both Mandarin and Cantonese.

Still, there was a limit to what Li Yelan could teach her son. She was, after all, only the head of the Li clan by default. His father had carried the title when he was still alive. Syaoran had four sisters, all older and, he felt, more qualified for the job. But being women meant that they were in line all right, but only behind him. One of them could only be the head if he failed. And he could not fail. It would mean being disowned, and being a scar on the family's name. The shame would kill him.

So he slogged through all his work. He could speak English proficiently (nearly accentless) and he could defeat a band of full grown men with his fists alone. But he could not read minds. Not the way he suspected Eriol could. It was inevitable, he supposed, that one of his areas of study would be weak, and unfortunately, it was the magic. If his mother found out...

"Syaoran," called a voice. "Syaoran..."

"Huh?" he said with a bleary eye. His eyes focused and he stared up at an empty ceiling.

Nakuru was nudging him awake, concern etched into her features. "Syaoran," she said. "It's time for school. And Eriol wants to speak with you." She disappeared from view.

"But..." he slurred, "it's not Monday yet..."

He dragged himself out of bed, and dressed, fumbling with the buttons for several minutes. He thudded down the stairs, peering blearily at the dining room table. Eriol was already there, drinking hot chocolate.

"'Morning," Syaoran droned, still not quite awake. Nakuru rushed forward with a cup which he drank, enough to be aware of what Eriol was doing. Reading the newspaper.

"Good morning," greeted Eriol, putting the paper to the side and gazing at his cousin. "You're late."

Syaoran checked his watch to verify this, and nearly choked on his chocolate. "What are you talking about?!" he roared. "School doesn't start for another hour!"

"Yes, but I thought you'd like to catch up with Sakura before class started," Eriol said, not at least bothered that Syaoran had taken offense at this. He stood up, walking past Syaoran so that he could drop his cup in the sink.

"Why in the world would I want to see that little perk queen?!" This was the last straw. Eriol's millions of eccentricities, the fact that he acted as if he was so much better than Syaoran finally cracked his nerves, and Syaoran could feel the heat in his face color his cheeks.

Eriol was still completely unperturbed. He simply cocked his head. "You didn't like her?"

"I-" It was hard to think nice thoughts about other people when he was angry at Eriol. "It's not that she's not a nice person-"

"Good," said Eriol, patting him on the shoulder. "You know where her house is. Go walk her to school. Go check on her. Sakura's big lug of a brother might've grounded her to the end of the school year. Nakuru, please help him on his way."

Nakuru gave a weak grin. She didn't seem too enthusiastic about following Eriol's orders. "Erm," she said, "this way." She tried to steer him towards the door.

Syaoran shoved her hands out of the way. "If you're so freakin' interested in how Sakura is doing, why won't you just go see her for yourself, huh?!" he shouted at his bespectacled cousin as Nakuru grabbed a hold of his arm, and dragged him to the door. "I won't ever forgive you for this, you-!!"

Nakuru watched him walk down the road to Sakura's house. He seriously considered forgetting about the girl and heading for the school instead, but didn't like the idea of being there thirty minutes too early. He hauled his legs to Sakura's house.

He was stomping up the steps when the girl in question opened the door.

"There you are Syaoran," Sakura said with a smile. She reached behind her for her backpack then ran down to meet him. "I had a funny feeling you were coming."

But Syaoran was staring, mystified at her garden. On such a gorgeous spring morning, the flowers took in the sun's light and spilled it back out, like tiny moons, except far more colorful. None of them were snapped, dug out, or dying. The walls around Sakura's house looked as forbidding as ever, matching the stone steps below him in color. They weren't broken. It was as if the teddy bear attack hadn't occurred at all.

"Nice, isn't it?" said Sakura as she saw what he was looking at. "It was like that Saturday night, after you left. My brother didn't even notice a thing."

Syaoran was strongly reminded of Eriol again. "Sakura's garden was never ruined," he'd said. That little idiot was behind this; Syaoran was sure, even if he couldn't feel anything. Did Sakura...?

"Do you... do you feel anything?" Syaoran asked.

"Feel what?" Sakura asked back.

He shook his head. "Nothing." So, yes. Eriol was stronger than her.

"That was quite interesting last Saturday," said Sakura, thoughtfully, as they started to walk to school. "I wonder who did it. Attack us, and then just fix it back up. Kinda strange, don't you think?"

"Yeah," said Syaoran. He thought about how Eriol had done it to show his weaknesses, and the guilt troubled him. "You're not going to look for the person who did this, are you?"

"Nah, not really," said Sakura with a smile. "You saw the place. Didn't really look like it was destroyed."

"So you're fine." Syaoran looked for confirmation. "No problems. Your brother didn't ground you, or anything?"

Sakura giggled. "My brother can't ground me."

"Well, that's good," he said. And he remembered what she'd said about him last Saturday. "Did he- did he really miss the bus, like you said?"

This Sakura answered a laugh, a roaring one, with her head thrown back. "Yeah, he did," and she smiled at the thought of it.

"Really?" Syaoran couldn't believe his ears.

"Yes, really," she echoed him. "Do you doubt me?"

"No, but," he was still overcoming the surprise of it, "but that's really hard. No one- I mean, most people our age can't do uncontrollable magic." He was struck again by the painful image of his annoying cousin.

"Uncontrollable magic?"

"You mean you don't know?" Syaoran stared at Sakura as if she was an alien. He launched into an explanation. "There are two classes of magic. You've got your controllable magic which is the stuff that happens when you want it too. Like shooting lightning with your wand thing, or burning paper. Then there's uncontrollable magic which is the kind of magic that just HAPPENS to you. Like, knowing what's happening to your brother right when it's happening to him. I mean, you don't know everything that goes on in everyone's lives right? Just snapshots of it every now and then, right?"

Sakura nodded, and Syaoran let out a sigh of relief.

"Can some people really do that, thought?" Sakura asked. "Know everything that's going on at every waking moment?"

Syaoran shook his head violently at thought of it. "No, nobody can do that," he said. "I've heard of a lot of people who've come really close though. They go mad within hours. People just aren't meant to know everything that's happening at every waking moment. Drive 'em nuts, that's what."

Sakura's eyes seemed balloon. "Could-could that happen to me?" she asked, and Syaoran could see her just imagining going insane.

He smiled, sympathetically. Sakura was so innocent. "You'll be fine," he assured her. "It only happens to people who force it. You can't force uncontrollable magic. Like I said, it's the kind that just happens to you."

She brightened almost instantly. "I'm so glad I can finally talk to someone about being a magician, Syaoran," Sakura confided, as they approached the school gates. "I just talk about it with my family, that's all."

Syaoran nodded. Of course Sakura's family would be full of magicians. Magic tended to run in families.

Together, they entered the school and headed for their classroom. Syaoran wasn't surprised to find Eriol already present, as was Tomoyo whose nose was in a book. Eriol gave him a grin, and he felt an old ripple of anger. Otherwise, he was much calmer now than he'd been earlier that morning.

"Settle down class, settle down," Mr. Terrada declared when the bell rang, and he started the day by passing out their math tests from the week before. Seeing a satisfactory 96% at the top of his paper, Syaoran decided that he could zone out for the rest of the day. Which he did; just managing to answer Mr. Terrada's water-percentage-in-the-body question so that he wouldn't be scolded.

At break, Eriol rattled Syaoran's shoulder violently before running to Mr. Terrada's desk to speak with him. Syaoran shot his cousin a disgruntled look, then settled back down to continue his nap. But there was a tap on his shoulder.

"Um," said a nervous voice. "Syaoran?"

"Really," said Syaoran, his temper on the rise. "Will people stop touching my shoulder?!" And he tried to elbow the person.

It was Sakura, and she yelped as his elbow swung past. His face burned at the sight of her, and he was only aware that it wasn't out of anger.

"Sorry," he mumbled, cheeks still flaming.

Tomoyo, behind her, gave an amused giggle. Sakura just twiddled her thumbs.

"What is it?"

"Could..." the words didn't seem to want to form, "Could you tutor me in math?"

"Huh?"

"Could you tutor her in math?" Tomoyo piped in.

"Huh?" he repeated, swiveling his head in search of his cousin. "Did you ask Eriol? He scored the highest. 104."

"He said he was busy," Sakura admitted. "He recommended you."

"Busy with what?"

"I don't know," said Sakura, and Tomoyo continued to giggle for seeming no reason in the background.

Syaoran thought it over. Did he have time? He remembered, as if from a century ago, that he needed to find the Fountain of Youth. It was why he was in Tomoeda; why he was currently in Eriol's company. And he'd been distracted with the weekend. Could he afford this new distraction?

He looked at Sakura, and found himself falling into her green eyes. He was no closer to finding the Fountain of Youth than he was when he first came to Tomoeda.

"Um..." said Sakura, who was uncomfortable at having him gaze into her eyes like that. "If you can't, you can just say so."

Syaoran snapped into reality. "Huh? Oh- oh nothing. Sure, I'll tutor you."

========

Author's Notes: Thank you ChibiYuffie1. I remain amazed and gratified at your continuous reviewing.

Thanks you also to h2omelonnga.


	9. In The Book

Fountain of Age

Summary: AU. Syaoran and Eriol are on the trail of the Fountain of Youth... a trail that would lead them inevitably to Tomoeda... and Sakura...

Disclaimer: I don't own Card Captor Sakura. None of it: manga, anime, little plushie Keros; I own nothing.

88888888

Chapter 9: In The Book...

88888888

Syaoran felt that he could trust Sakura about his quest for the Fountain of Youth. He really didn't know what direction to go in anymore; should he run around and check every fountain in the city? Was there another book, somewhere? Maybe, if he enlisted Sakura's help, with two brains, they could figure something out.

As if on cue, Eriol stopped him before they left the house some random morning. He held the book _Youth_ out to Syaoran.

"Here," said Eriol. "Thought you might want it back."

"Huh?" he responded, his eyes blurring on the book's off white cover. "Uh, yes. Thank you." Syaoran stared at it, as if seeing it for the first time. _Youth_, by Kaho Mizuki. He'd have to force feed himself the book later; in case it had any clues.

The school day passed without incident. Syaoran squeezed time between lectures to peek into the book. If Syaoran had the eye for it, he might've noted the gorgeous prose, but he found himself focus more on the horrifying plot. It was formula: girl meets boy. Girl hates boy and boy hates girl. Fate thrusts them together. Girl and boy fall in love with each other. Duh. Typical. Stupid. The chapter involving the fountain was a very long kissing scene, in which the two protagonists declared their undying love to each other. Never mind that they were only thirteen.

Meanwhile, Syaoran couldn't help notice that his classmates were sniggering.

"You are aware that's a girl book, right?" said Sakura, with a glance and a fond smile at the cover as they packed up before the bell signaled the end of school.

Less insulted that some might expect (including himself), Syaoran asked, "So, you've read this then?"

"Tomoyo loaned it to me," Sakura said brightly. "Love that fountain scene."

The bell rang, and the students sauntered out.

Tomoyo caught sight of the book's cover too. "Good book," she said. Eriol grinned at her side.

"Where are you guys going?" asked Syaoran.

"Art club," Tomoyo replied.

"We're studying people's faces this week," explained Eriol. "Then next week, we're doing this project: 'Imagine yourself in twenty years.'"

"I didn't know you were an artist, Eriol," said Sakura.

"I am," Eriol said, proudly. "I love art. I have an art collection at home. You should come by and see it one day."

Sakura laughed weakly. "My brother would never let me..."

"You're an artist too, Tomoyo?" Syaoran asked the black haired girl.

She responded by flashing him with her camera. "A bit," Tomoyo said, as Polaroid printed and Syaoran cleaned the stars out of his eyes. She shook it in his face. "I'm more of a photographer. I'm supplying the art club with pictures."

Sakura yelped. "NO! You're not using any pictures of ME, are you?"

Eriol laughed, and Tomoyo wouldn't stop grinning. She chose not to answer Sakura's question, fanning herself with the picture. She asked, "What about you? Where are you going?"

"Public library, as always," said Syaoran. "Study for math, you know."

"Seeing as my brother would skin Syaoran if he came within eight feet of the house," said Sakura bitterly. "Even if I'd be failing math without him."

"Yes," said Tomoyo, and her eyes slanted off into a corner. "They must get really cozy, these study sessions at the library..."

"They must get really cozy," mocked Sakura, "these art club meetings. Not exactly a lot of art club members..."

"Oh! You bet!" And to everyone's surprise (maybe even Eriol's) she looped her arm through his, and dragged him off to the art room. "'Bye Sakura!"

Sakura could do nothing but ogle her best friend. "You don't think-" she said to Syaoran, "they couldn't be... could they?"

The boy laughed. He remembered Eriol in the restaurant. "Come on."

They headed to the library under an overcast sky, only to find it closed. A heavy drop of water struck Sakura's nose.

"Now what?" asked Syaoran as Sakura blinked, surprised, then scrubbed the drop off.

"Well, your house is too far," she said, ticking off the possibilities on her hand. "My house is close enough, but Touya's probably back, and he'd hack you to pieces even before you set foot on our property."

"What other options do we have left then?" Syaoran asked, irritably. A few drops fell into his hair, and he was starting to get sick of Sakura's brother, even though he hadn't met him yet. _I could probably take him_, he thought.

Sakura looked around at the library's doorway. She tilted her head upward. "We can just hang out here," she said. "The rain will end in thirty minutes. We'll be done by then."

"Uncontrollable magic again?" said Syaoran, as they sat themselves down, next to the door.

"I guess," said Sakura. She opened her math notebook, but instead of starting immediately on her work, she leaned back and rested her eyes. "I seem to get the impression that you also want to tell me something."

Tell her what? What was Sakura expecting? He looked down at the book in his hand, and remembered what he'd been thinking of that morning. He flipped to the page with the fountain. There, he found the note tucked back inside, upside down again. He turned it to a readable angle, and said "Try to find me in Tomoeda" in his mind.

The girl was now looking at him expectantly, her green eyes pinned on his amber ones. He took a deep breath. Certainly, he had thought of telling Sakura about his quest for the Fountain of Youth, but it wouldn't stop it from sounding strange.

"I'm-" he said lamely, "I'm looking for the Fountain of Youth."

There was a pause, as if Sakura was expecting more. When nothing came, she furrowed her brow in thought. "Fountain of Youth? As in Ponce de Leon, Florida, and stuff?"

"Yeah," said Syaoran, somewhat surprised. It wasn't really traditional Japanese fare, was it? "How would you know about that?"

"I just remembered," said Sakura, "My dad was talking about that before he left."

"Does your dad know anything else about the Fountain of Youth?" Syaoran asked eagerly. Maybe his hypothesis was right; Sakura could help him.

"Just the basic stuff," she said. "Just Ponce de Leon."

"Oh," said Syaoran, hopes plummeting. He leaned back against the stone wall too, and gazed out at the rain. "We should start on our math homework if we're going to finish it in thirty minutes."

Sakura produced a pencil from her bag, and began to jot something down in the notebook. "Aren't you in the least bit interested in why my dad would talk to me about the Fountain of Youth?"

Now that you thought about it, the Fountain of Youth didn't exactly pop up in everyday conversation.

"Why?" asked Syaoran.

"I got around to asking my brother why my dad's in England," said Sakura, erasing a calculation violently. "My father is in England to find the Fountain of Youth's opposite: The Fountain of Age."

"The Fountain of Age?"

"Yeah," said Sakura with a nod. "I suppose it makes you older instead of younger."

Well, he was looking for the Fountain of Youth, not the Fountain of Age. That was useless information. Syaoran sighed at the futility of his search, and returned to _Youth_. He gazed at the picture of the fountain, briefly. He turned to check how Sakura was doing, when his eyes focused on the white areas of the picture.

"No way," said Syaoran, breathlessly. He took the note, read it, and turned it upside down. He stuck it where he had first found it, then flipped the book over so he could read the note properly again.

"What is it?" Sakura asked, as she absentmindedly rubbed a messy hole into her assignment. She glanced over the black and white picture. "Nice fountain."

So that was it. Syaoran upended the book repeatedly, but there was no mistaking it: the white areas of the picture formed a fountain; an exact copy of the black one he'd first seen.

He reexamined the black fountain, and its caption. Fuente de Ponce de Leon... if the black fountain was Ponce de Leon's fountain, which could be nothing else but the Fountain of Youth, what was the white fountain? The opposite of the Fountain of Youth... the Fountain of Age... an upside down note... "Try to find me in Tomoeda..."

With a sickening realization, Syaoran groaned. "I've been on the trail of the wrong thing," he nearly cried. "It's not the Fountain of Youth that's in Tomoeda, it's the Fountain of Age."

88888888

Author's Notes: I must admit that this would be far more effective if I had visuals, but I don't. Sorry.

Thank you again to fae and ChibiYuffie1. I always love hearing from you guys.

And h2omelonnqa, who I thanked for simply reading. I thank any other readers I have out there, except that I have no idea if I have any others. It's like waving at one of those double sided mirrors: you have no idea who's on the other side watching you because all you can see is yourself (and all the people who show themselves). In any case, I hope everyone is enjoying reading this.


	10. In Depth

Fountain of Age

Summary: AU. Syaoran and Eriol are on the trail of the Fountain of Youth... a trail that would lead them inevitably to Tomoeda... and Sakura...

Disclaimer: I don't own Card Captor Sakura. None of it: manga, anime, little plushie Keros; I own nothing.

88888888

Chapter 10: In Depth...

88888888

Syaoran felt as though the world was breaking at the seams, and he was sinking down to the earth's core. He wished dearly, anyway. The Fountain of Age?! How could he mix it up with the ultimate prize, the fabled one, the Fountain of Youth? Certainly, not many people had heard of the Fountain of Age; he'd only learned about right there, when Sakura had mentioned that her father had gone looking for it. If his mother caught wind of this, he would be dead.

Sakura, for her part, couldn't grasp the gravity of this situation. She was even excited, blurting that she'd call her dad's hotel that night, and tell him that the Fountain of Age was in Tomoeda.

"I bet he could even come home tomorrow!" she exclaimed.

"But Sakura..." said Syaoran woefully, and he told her about the consequences he would now have to face.

"You'll be all right," she soothed. "I think you're still on the trail; the two fountains are certainly linked if they're in the same picture."

"Is that your uncontrollable magic?" Syaoran asked, hopefully.

"Nope," replied Sakura, cheerfully. "It's just a guess."

This helped his situation a mere iota, and he looked at her incredulously as she perused the note herself.

"Hmmm..." she glared at the note through slitted eyes. "Who wrote this?"

"I have no idea," answered Syaoran, his head preoccupied with reminders of impending doom.

"Well the hand writing looks familiar," said Sakura. "Where'd you get the book anyway?"

"Eriol's library."

"Maybe Eriol wrote it then," Sakura said, and she shut the book on the note. She ran her eyes over the plain cover of _Youth_.

"Have you ever done a search on the author?"

"Kaho Mizuki?"

"Yes." Sakura nodded. "Although her last name is Mizuki, so it's actually Mizuki Kaho. She might know something; she had to get the picture from somewhere. Or maybe the publisher." She leafed back to the picture. "Darn, there isn't an artist written here," Sakura said of the caption. "We could've done research on that."

Well, at least she was being as helpful as Syaoran had hoped.

He still felt, somewhat, that he needed to start from the beginning. He needed to return to England, and do a real strip down of that library, instead of the one day sponging he'd done. He must've been delusional that day; the heat had gotten to him; this was the wrong book. He'd come up with the wrong conclusions. That note was written by someone whose existence didn't matter and it had nothing to do with the fountain. That stupid painting had just been staring at the shelf for no reason.

Syaoran returned home with lead where his heart was. He found Eriol in his red chair in the library, and explained everything his new discovery. He needed to return to England, and renew the search for the Fountain of Youth.

But Eriol did not do anything. He sat comfortably in his seat, Supi in his lap. The stuffed animal was eyeing Syaoran rather intensely, and he wished it would turn away if it could, although he knew it was just some stupid stuffed animal.

"Well, like Sakura said," Eriol declared. "The Fountain of Youth and the Fountain of Age are linked. If we find the Fountain of Age, it will give us very important clues to the Fountain of Youth. Cheer up, Syaoran. We're still on the trail."

This was not what Syaoran wanted to hear. "No! We must return to England! If my mother finds out I screwed up, she's going to kill me!"

"Your mother's not going to kill you," said Eriol. "Even she understands that for a person to rise up greater than ever before, he must make mistakes. It's all right, Syaoran."

"I messed up." Syaoran trained his eyes on his hands, but he was looking very far away. "I really messed up. That note; I read it wrong. It's just some note someone slipped in. I was totally wrong."

"I doubt that you were wrong," Eriol said, in a tone Syaoran had never heard. Was it- was Eriol trying to be... gentle? The bespectacled boy stood up, smiling. "Something tells me that you were right on the dot."

88888888

"So Eriol is also capable of uncontrollable magic," Sakura deduced. They were at the library again, hunting up facts on Mizuki Kaho.

"Yeah," said Syaoran, somewhat depressed after recounting for Sakura his chat with his cousin. Not only was Sakura reminding him that he was a B grade magician, but they were getting no where! He fussed at being miles and miles away from where he felt he could find the right answer.

At least they were tackling neutral ground.

"Here," said Sakura, and she pulled a book down. It was entitled _Famous People of Tomoeda_.

"The only book with anything about Mizuki Kaho," Sakura said, and she cracked the book open, and leafed until the appropriate page.

"Not very famous is she?" said Syaoran, glancing at the short paragraph.

_Mizuki Kaho was born on February 11 at Tomoeda General. At a very young age, her teachers discovered her profound gift for the Japanese language, which they helped nurture. Ms. Mizuki first won the Tomoeda Short Story contest when she was only eight years old, and continued to do so until she left to attend college in London. Her book _Youth_ was published fourteen years ago, and has become a best seller all around the world. However, she still claims that her best works are her countless dissertations on mythical artifacts._

"Mythical artifacts," said Syaoran after reading. "You think she wrote a dissertation on the Fountain of Youth?"

"Maybe," Sakura replied. "Let's check with the librarian."

The librarian searched for it on his computer. "_The Dissertations of Kaho Mizuki_," he read. "Sorry, kids. Our only copy's checked out. Would you like to place a hold on it?"

They answered in the affirmative. Sakura then led Syaoran to the computers where they spent several minutes trying to find more information on Kaho Mizuki via the Internet. Several sites praised _Youth_, mentioned that Mizuki resided in England, then apologized for their lack of any other information.

"She's a very private person," excused one website. So private, apparently, that there were no pictures of her. Mizuki had never done a book signing, had never seen a representative from her publishing company, and had never spoken in public. No one on the Internet had a copy of any of her dissertations either, though some claimed to have read them. They did not discuss the content of the essays.

It was as if Kaho Mizuki did not really exist. She was just the name on the cover.

"Now what?" asked Sakura, once they'd returned to their table in the corner. She leaned back on the back legs of her chair, and caught a face full of sunlight.

"Sakura..." said Syaoran, slowly, formulating the thought as he went along, "why would a person be prouder of a bunch of dissertations than a best seller?"

Her chair thumped back on all four legs as Sakura edged forward. "What exactly is a dissertation anyway?"

"It's an essay," Syaoran explained. "A very long essay. They can go on for hundreds of pages."

"Well," said Sakura, "Let's think of all the reasons why you would write an essay."

"You would write an essay," Syaoran thought out loud, "to explain something. Or, to convince someone of something."

"And her dissertations are about mythical artifacts," Sakura added.

The two caught each others' eyes, but it was Syaoran who voiced it first.

"Do you think she found something?"

"Maybe," Sakura said. "But, wait. We don't even know if she wrote a dissertation on the Fountain of Youth. Just mythical artifacts. We could be jumping to conclusions here."

88888888

Tired, Syaoran stumbled into Eriol's house an hour later, in time to hear something heavy fall right above him. It was coming from the second floor, and it was followed by voices.

"Hey! This is oil paint, be careful."

It was Eriol. Syaoran stared at the ceiling as if he could see through it. What was he doing up there?

Giggles came next, punctuated by garbled exclamations. Certainly curious now, Syaoran climbed the stairs, and headed for the noise. It was in Eriol's room. He opened the door and found no one present.

"No kisses allowed, you know that," said another voice. A girl's voice. A familiar girl's voice.

Syaoran's head was instantly attracted to his right. The white door he had seen earlier, and had assumed was the door to the bathroom, hung open. It wasn't a bathroom after all. Instead, it was a room covered in plastic. Paint splattered all over the floor.

Framed in the doorway stood Eriol. There was black paint on his cheek and on his nose. In his hands, positioned near his face, were two wrists. The wrists were connected to a pair of hands, and the pair of hands were both holding paintbrushes sploshed in paint; paintbrushes, that were resting on Eriol's shoulders.

Syaoran couldn't believe who Eriol was holding on to. Paint all over her white dress, and face, Tomoyo stood there, her eyes closed, Eriol barely an inch away from her. They seemed trapped in their own little world. There was only the two of them, and Syaoran didn't exist.

Then Tomoyo opened her eyes, and saw him.

"Syaoran!" she called out, and Eriol let go of her. "Hey! How was the tutoring session?"

They weren't even embarrassed about it! As if it was perfectly normal to be covered in paint and a inch away from Eriol's face. He wanted nothing but to disappear. This was a bad time to come home.

"Syaoran?"

"Uh, yeah," Syaoran managed. "It was okay."

"Wanna come here and see my project?" Tomoyo enthusiastically invited him.

Despite the frozen feeling in his legs, Syaoran found himself stepping forward, curiosity getting the better of him.

"Really, Tomoyo, do you have to show that to him?" moaned Eriol.

Tomoyo giggled and dabbed more paint on his cheek. "He's embarrassed because I decided to paint him instead of myself," she told Syaoran.

He finally stood directly in front of the painting. A face stuck its tongue out at him, glasses askew, long black hair flailing about. The person looked like he should wear a straitjacket.

"Isn't it brilliant?" Tomoyo sighed. "My little masterpiece."

"Eriol is going to look like he should be in a mental institution?" Syaoran squeaked.

Eriol bonked him on the head. "You shouldn't be saying things like that in front of the person you're talking about."

"That I did just to make him angry," Tomoyo confided in him. Then she added, so that Eriol could hear: "Besides; there's always been a thin line between genius and insanity, right Eriol?"

"Still," Eriol said, staring at his likeness, and making a face not unlike the one in the painting. "Did it have to feature the more insane side of my genius?"

"Of course!" exclaimed Tomoyo. She didn't notice Eriol sneak behind her, wrap around his arms around her waist and tickle her till she sent the birds flying with her laughter.

Syaoran wished he was one of the fleeing birds, but his feet seemed glued to the floor.

"Well," said Tomoyo, when Eriol had desisted. She put the brushes on her easel, a smile still sitting calmly on her face. "I've got to go. My mother's expecting me for dinner."

"Already?" Eriol checked his watch. "You can always eat dinner here, if you want."

"No, that's all right, thanks," she said. Tomoyo headed for the door, but paused in the frame. "There's a very big art show coming up at the museum, Eriol. I'm going to try to get us tickets, all right? Oh! Syaoran, if you want-"

"No," said Syaoran, struck by the display of emotion. He really didn't want to see more. "You guys just go by yourselves, and have fun! Yeah, tons of fun..."

The girl gave him an appreciative smile before she left.

88888888

Author's Notes: Many thanks Midi Tenshi, h2omelonnqa, and ChibiYuffie 1 for reviewing. Thanks also to Kari Hiiragizawa for reading. I'd say more but I'm running out of time! See you next chapter!


	11. In Paint

Fountain of Age

Summary: AU. Syaoran and Eriol are on the trail of the Fountain of Youth... a trail that would lead them inevitably to Tomoeda... and Sakura...

Disclaimer: I don't own Card Captor Sakura. None of it: manga, anime, little plushie Keros; I own nothing.

88888888

Chapter 11: In Paint...

88888888

It was hard to tell if it was spring or summer the next morning. The flowers were in full bloom, and the sun bathed everything in golden light.

"When were you going to tell me you were going out?" asked Syaoran as he poked at his pancakes. He felt like he should've known. It wasn't exactly hard to miss that the two had been spending way more time together than... than before.

"We're not really going out," said Eriol. Sunlight caught the edge of his glasses, and Syaoran was blinded for a moment. "We're just working on the art project."

"I- I always thought you liked Sakura," said Syaoran.

Eriol looked at him funny. "I thought YOU liked Sakura."

"Me?" said Syaoran, his face flaming. "I- I-"

"It's all right," Eriol said, and he allowed Syaoran's cheeks to return to their original color. "Tomoyo and I have more fun anyway. And since she did my project for me, I'm painting hers. The teacher won't care."

88888888

Before the bell rang, Sakura bounded up to Syaoran and grabbed his hand, squeezing it until he thought she'd punctured holes in his fingers.

"Aaaaaaaah!" she suppressed a scream. "You won't believe this, but I found Kaho Mizuki's dissertation on the Fountain of Youth!"

"What?" Syaoran couldn't believe his ears.

"I know!" said Sakura. "That's what I said too; when Yuki told me. But yeah, my dad's got a copy. He was reading it before he left. Yuki says he'll find it during the day, and I can read it when I get home!"

"Great!" Syaoran said, and he smiled, a huge smile, with teeth and everything. "Better yet, we can pass by your house before we go to the library."

"We should do that!" Sakura exclaimed, and she squeezed his hands a little bit more.

"All right," Syaoran said, and he hastily let go of her hands. His own were woefully covered in little red marks.

"Hee," said Sakura, sheepishly, with a blush. "I never noticed, but you've got a great smile. It's very cute."

"Settle down kids, settle down," boomed Mr. Terrada's voice.

Sakura scurried away with a backwards glance at Syaoran. He flopped into his own seat. Suddenly feeling exhausted, Syaoran cradled his head in his hands, and felt the heat radiate from his cheeks.

That was completely uncalled for. He spent the rest of the school day staring at the back of Sakura's head. She thought his smile was cute? He played around with his face, trying to smile cutely. No, not like that. A little more to the right. Yes. More teeth. Yeah. She thought that was cute?

A giggle escaped from his left. He snuck a glance at Eriol, who was smiling too, but looking like the image of a good, attentive student.

"Mr. Li," said Mr. Terrada. "Is everything all right?"

"Yes sir," replied Syaoran, sitting up straighter.

"Then kindly stop making funny faces," ordered Mr. Terrada. "It's distracting..."

88888888

The school day ended, and Sakura and Syaoran couldn't escape the school faster. They sprinted to her house. Only when they reached the bottom of the steps did they stop to breathe.

The door swung open. "Sakura!" called Yukito's somewhat familiar voice. "Welcome home."

"Yuki!" she called back. "Did you find it?"

"Yes," he answered.

Sakura grabbed Syaoran's hand. "Come on."

"Why, hello Hiiragizawa. Nice to see you again," said Yukito.

"Actually," Sakura explained, "This is Li Syaoran. He's Hiiragizawa's cousin."

"Oh, I see," said Yukito. "I'm sorry." He bowed.

"'S okay," said Syaoran.

"Come in," said Yukito. "I've got some lemon cake, if you care for it."

Having just run nonstop from school, they decided to take the housekeeper up on his offer. They spent a good number of minutes devouring the scrumptious snack, while Syaoran told Sakura what he'd seen the day before.

She shrieked in happiness. "They're so cute together!"

Syaoran was appalled. "You mean, you knew?!"

"Everyone with eyes knew," she said. Syaoran looked like he'd been slapped.

"Oh come on," Sakura said, rolling her eyes at him. "I know you're a boy Syaoran, but you're not that thick."

"But it's only been three weeks!" Syaoran thought about it for a moment. "Or something..."

"That's not that short of a time," said Sakura, and she drained her glass of water. "Come on, let's get the essay and leave before my brother comes. Still got that math homework left."

She gave her dishes to Yukito who told her the essay was in the basement. "Follow me when you're done," she told Syaoran.

He sat, and ate cake by himself while Yukito washed Sakura's dishes. He felt like he'd slipped out of the loop. He really should've known. Really. Eriol and Tomoyo weren't even keeping it a secret. What was the harm in their relationship anyway? It wasn't like he was jealous. Tomoyo was nice, but not the girl for him.

But then, who was the girl for him? Brown hair... green eyes...

Clunk! The fork in his hand fell. Yukito turned and looked at him questioningly.

"Uh, um," bumbled Syaoran, aware of how red his face must've been. "It was great cake. Thank you." He shoved his plate, and the glass into Yukito's hands, then rushed off to join Sakura with the essay.

He didn't realize that he had no idea where the basement was. Syaoran ended up in the living room instead. It was a nice living room, and had evidently been used recently; unlike Eriol's. Magazines were strewn all over the table, a pair of roller blades hid beneath a chair, and a blanket sprawled carelessly across the big couch.

Syaoran slumped on top of the blanket, cursing his stupidity for not asking where the basement was. He was sure that if he poked his head into the kitchen one more time, Yukito would tell him where it was, but his head was still reeling from Sakura. Why Sakura? She was just the little perk queen, never seen without a smile, and always so...

Beautiful. There was a painting hanging on the wall from where he was sitting. It was a painting of a woman with long black hair, and a kind smile. And those eyes. The eyes he'd seen in only one other place. Eriol's-

"Syaoran?" came Sakura's voice. She appeared in a doorway nearby with a piece of paper in her hands.

He blushed at the very sight of her, and realized that her eyes were the exact same shade as the woman in the painting.

Sakura walked into the living room, and saw what he was looking at.

"You like it?" she asked. "It's my mother. Isn't she pretty?"

88888888

Author's Notes: Thank you Hikari Mizu. I apologize that I can't disclose how I came up with the twist(s) because that would ruin the story, but I can tell you that all the portraits that I wrote about are very real. They do exist in real life. And what do you mean I left you hanging? Is that a good thing? A bad thing? very unsure

Well, till next time!


	12. In Writing

Fountain of Age

Summary: AU. Syaoran and Eriol are on the trail of the Fountain of Youth... a trail that would lead them inevitably to Tomoeda... and Sakura...

Disclaimer: I don't own Card Captor Sakura. None of it: manga, anime, little plushie Keros; I own nothing.

88888888

Chapter 12: In Writing...

88888888

So that's why the eyes were identical. The painting was of Sakura's mother.

"This..." Syaoran's voice seemed weak with surprise. "Is your mother?"

"Yeah," said Sakura. "Do you-"

"Who painted it?" he asked abruptly. Syaoran held his breath now. There was only one person he knew who painted those kind of eyes...

"Er, um," said Sakura, startled. "Clow Reed, of course. He's my father's favorite painter. He's got tons of his paintings down in the basement."

"Really?" said Syaoran, his eyes nearly popping out of his face.

"Yeah," said Sakura, unnerved by his enthusiasm. "You want to see them?"

"YES!!" Syaoran nearly yelled.

Sakura led him down into the basement. They were tucked into a corner, and gathering dust. Their cheerful subjects smiled out of the canvas, their eyes glittering in that special way only Reed could produce. None of the paintings had frames.

"So," said Sakura, watching Syaoran's eyes rove over the stacks of canvas as if they were presents at Christmas. "Why so interested in Clow Reed's paintings?"

"I forgot to tell you," he said. "I found Mizuki's book with the help of a painting. It was hanging above Eriol's fireplace, and the person in the painting was staring right at it."

"Staring right at it?"

"Yeah," said Syaoran. "And the painting was done by Clow Reed."

"Did you investigate Clow Reed then?" she asked.

Syaoran felt his face burn. "Er, no..."

The girl tutted at him. "How do you expect to find the Fountain of Youth if you're not going to follow every measly lead?"

"Eriol's got one other Clow Reed painting," Syaoran changed the subject. "It's a strange one. There's black paint all over it. He said someone vandalized it-"

But that couldn't be right. Syaoran stopped short. Eriol owned two copies of that painting: the one in London, and the one here in Tomoeda. Both of them were covered in black paint. Both of them couldn't have been vandalized, could they? Not unless the vandal was-

He was interrupted by a gasp from Sakura. "A vandalized painting?!" The next thing he knew, she was shoving paintings out of the way.

"It was an accident," she said. "We were painting the basement, and I tripped..."

Behind her was a blank canvas. Or, at least, Syaoran had thought it was blank. When he was able to inspect it closer, he could see colors peeking through in places, and little odd blobs where the white stuff (paint, he realized) was too thick. And, of course, those eyes. Intact. Clear. Hypnotizing.

Someone had thrown a bucket of paint all over the painting.

"The strange thing is," Sakura whispered into his ear, "Yuki came out of it."

"What? " Syaoran breathed, grabbing hold of a canvas to keep himself steady. Too much information, too fast!

"Yeah," said Sakura, talking at a normal volume again. "And so did Kero."

"Kero?"

"He's a stuffed bear," said Sakura. "He's very lazy; he mostly hangs out in my room."

Syaoran practically shivered. "Eriol," he said. "Eriol has a housekeeper. And a stuffed cat. And a painting like this."

"Really?" said Sakura, excited. "That's so cool!"

"I guess," Syaoran replied, and he wondered where Eriol had gotten the painting. Things were becoming too strange. He needed to leave; breathe a little bit. It was happening way too fast.

"These must be painting servants," he said.

"Painting servants?"

"I've only heard of them," said Syaoran. "My mom says we used to have a lot of them back home, but I never could tell. They looked like people to me. Of course, she said painting servants could look like anything: people, things with wings, little stuffed animals. They can do anything you want them to do: do the dishes, other household chore stuff; I've heard of some who can even do magic."

He tapped the white gunk thoughtfully. "You paint your painting servants, and you cast spells on the canvas, and the paint I suppose, so that they can do whatever you want when you need them. And when you need them, you just ruin the painting." He traced a circle around an eye. "The eyes stay clear because that's where the servants come out."

Suddenly, Yuki's voice echoed loudly from upstairs.

"Hello, Touya," the housekeeper was saying, amiably. "You're early today."

"Oh shoot," said Sakura. "We've gotta go." She glanced the room over in search of a window. Finding one tucked behind the paintings, she began to shove canvas out of the way, in hopes of reaching it.

"Sakura's here, isn't she?" said an unfamiliar voice. Touya's. His shoes thudded hard above them.

"Too late!" Syaoran hissed, as she fiddled with the latch. It wouldn't open.

"Hide then!" Sakura squeaked. She scrambled between the canvases. Syaoran squeezed in after her.

And not a moment too soon. With a bang, the door shot open, and the thuds descended into the basement. Syaoran didn't dare breathe; he prayed that they wouldn't be found.

But it was for nothing. Without hesitation, the thuds neared the paintings, and tossed the canvas they'd been hiding behind.

The scene that met Kinomoto Touya probably wasn't much to his liking. Jammed into a tiny space, Syaoran was sitting between Sakura's legs, his head resting next to her chest. He picked himself up right away, and offered a hand to Sakura. They dusted themselves off under his angry gaze.

"Hiya, Touya," Sakura said bravely, when she couldn't find anymore invisible dust to pat off. "This is Li Syaoran. He's my math tutor."

"Uh," said Syaoran. "Hello." So this was her brother. He didn't look incredibly impressive, though he was fairly tall. And angry looking.

Sakura's brother didn't waste time. "What," he boomed, "are you doing down here?"

Sakura lamely shook Kaho Mizuki's essay. "Reading."

"Reading? Under Dad's priceless paintings?"

"Oh, that-"

"We were hiding from you," Syaoran said bluntly.

Touya shot him with his glare. "I haven't allowed you to speak yet."

"So?" the boy shot back. He fought to keep his temper down. "We're not doing anything illegal. Or forbidden. We're just reading, like she said."

Touya opened his mouth to retort, but Yuki's voice interrupted him.

"Touya," he called, and the housekeeper appeared in the doorway. "What's going on down there?"

"This idiot's messing with Sakura." He jerked his head at Syaoran's defiant face.

"Syaoran?" said Yuki, and he settled his gaze on the boy in question. "Oh, not Syaoran. They're just reading Mizuki's essay."

"Then how come I found them under my dad's paintings?"

Yuki looked at the teenagers questioningly.

"We," said Sakura, and she swallowed, regaining her confidence. This was the perfect time to leave. Yukito was good at distracting at her older brother. "We were hiding." She pointed at her brother accusingly. "From this monster here." She squeezed her voice in a mockery of all damsels in distress. "Help me Yuki, he's scaring me!" Before her brother could stop her, she hopped up the steps, and into daylight, Syaoran a step behind her. "Bye!"

"Phew!" Sakura breathed, once they'd gone into the garden. "We were lucky, this time. I'll be paying for that later, though."

Syaoran laughed, and he screwed up his voice to match Sakura's. "' Help me Yuki! He's scaring me!'"

"Hey!" she slapped him playfully on the shoulder. "I got us out, didn't I?"

"Yeah, yeah," said Syaoran. He was thinking about how green her eyes were.

Sakura, oblivious to his thoughts, held the essay out to him. "Well," she said, "here you go. I can't make heads or tails of it. All I can see is Mizuki's name at the bottom. I don't think the rest of it's in Japanese. If you figure it out though, tell me tomorrow." She glanced behind her shoulder into the house. "Calling here might just get you killed."

"All right," agreed Syaoran. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Oh!" remembered Sakura. "One last thing. Ask Eriol about Clow Reed."

"I will," said Syaoran. "See you tomorrow." And without warning, he pecked her on the cheek.

Then he ran away, embarrassed. He only slowed down two streets over, cursing himself for being so bold. She probably hated him now. He stopped himself from replaying the moment over and over again by reading the essay.

But it wasn't an essay. And it certainly wasn't in Japanese. His eyes grew as the first few words registered. He ran the rest of the way to Eriol's house.

88888888

The door blasted open to allow Syaoran in. Dressed in a lively maid's outfit, Nakuru was serving Eriol tea.

"You're right on time," said Eriol, and he indicated the seat next to him.

"There's no time for that!" Syaoran shouted between deep breaths. Oh for joy! His mom would be so happy. "I- HAVE FOUND- THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH!"

Nakuru dropped the sugar bowl in her hands. Eriol hastily replaced his teacup.

"Are you sure?" he asked speedily. He stared into Syaoran's eyes intensely.

"Yes," said Syaoran. He waved the paper around. "It's not a fountain at all. It's a spell."

His cousin, and his housekeeper breathed a sigh of relief. Nakuru grabbed the dustpan, and began to clear away the spilt powder.

"Well?" said Syaoran, expectantly. "I thought you'd be a bit more excited than this."

"The Fountain of Youth isn't a spell," said Eriol. "Read a little more carefully Syaoran; that's just a measly strengthening spell."

"Hey!" the boy exclaimed, and he poked a finger at the heading. "I know my ancient Chinese is rusty, and I still need the help of other books to read, but it says it's the Fountain of Youth, right here."

"It's just a strengthening spell," repeated Eriol with a sip of his tea. "It's named that way to get fools like you excited about it. Otherwise, it's very tricky. You need a good amount of magic, and a lot of concentration. Then, you need a flawless ancient Chinese accent; otherwise you'd garble half the words. And even if you could do that, you also have to be able to hold your breath for a long period of time. There's a moment after the first words where it seems like all the breath's been sucked out of you. Supposedly, it's very painful. If you read the paper properly, everything's in there: all the requirements, all the warnings. Everything."

Syaoran ran his eyes over the rest of the paper, and realized, sadly, that his cousin was right. His arm drooped at the thought of it.

Ding dong! Nakuru bustled off to answer the doorbell.

"How... how would you know?" asked Syaoran.

"I've read it before," said Eriol. "Part of my studies." He sipped his tea.

"There's really only one thing special about that spell," he continued, almost as if he hadn't drunken tea in between blurbs. "That spell has the potential of being like the Fountain of Youth."

"Huh?"

"I explained to you that the Fountain of Youth gives strength," said Eriol, and he leveled his bespectacled gaze on his younger cousin. "If enough magic is used towards creating strength from that spell, it can make you young again. But you need enough magic. Otherwise, it doesn't matter if one person does it, or eight hundred."

"How much magic are we talking about?" asked Syaoran. He dreaded the answer.

"You're not fit to do this spell alone, if that's what you're wondering," said Eriol. "In your current state, you could never do it. Not even if you studied magic for the rest of your lifetime."

Syaoran made a funny noise as his knees buckled, and he sank to the floor. The rest of his life?

"Eriol," said Nakuru, returning with an envelope in her hand. "It's from Tomoyo."

"Oh, the invitation for the art show," Eriol said, and he accepted the letter. He gazed at the addresses for awhile before turning back to his writhing cousin on the ground.

"It's almost over," he said. "After tomorrow, we can return to England if you want."

88888888

Author's Notes: You heard Eriol... it's almost over...

Thanks goes out to Crystal Tearz, White-Destiny-Pure-Snow (Glad to hear from you again!), Serenity's Blaim (chuckles That's good!), and fae (Wow! You're really reviewing all of them! Thank you so much!).


	13. Investigation

Fountain of Age

Summary: AU. Syaoran and Eriol are on the trail of the Fountain of Youth... a trail that would lead them inevitably to Tomoeda... and Sakura...

Disclaimer: I don't own Card Captor Sakura. None of it: manga, anime, little plushie Keros; I own nothing.

88888888

Chapter 13: Investigation...

88888888

Sakura approached Syaoran at school the next day, her face somewhat flushed. "My father called yesterday night," she declared. "He is returning today, right on time for dinner. He says that I can invite some of my friends over; despite anything Touya said. So, I'm inviting you, Tomoyo, and Eriol. Would you- would you like to come?"

Syaoran remembered the kiss on the cheek, and felt his face redden too. "Would it be okay?"

"It's better than okay," Tomoyo chimed in, giggling. "You better say yes, Syaoran. She nearly screamed my ear off trying to get your phone number last night, but of course her brother wouldn't let her call-"

"Stop!" yelped Sakura, blushing furiously as she clamped her hands over Tomoyo's mouth. "Uh, yes. So, if you could come..."

"I'll come," said Syaoran, and Sakura beamed happily. Then he led her a little bit farther from Tomoyo's desk and dropped his voice to a whisper.

"Listen," he said. "That dissertation last night; it wasn't a dissertation."

"It wasn't?"

He repeated everything Eriol had told him the day before.

"The Fountain of Youth as a spell," thought Sakura. "That would've been nice. But, if it was a spell, and not an essay, then why was Mizuki's name on it?"

"I don't know," Syaoran answered truthfully. After Eriol had completely ruined his hopes, he hadn't bothered to read the rest of the paper.

"Do you still have it?"

"At home."

"Where's it not doing us any good," said Sakura, exasperated. "Bring it tonight then." She trailed off into her thoughts.

"So, now what are we going to do?" Syaoran asked, when Sakura allowed the silence to sit for too long.

"There's only one lead left then," said Sakura. "Clow Reed. Did you ask Eriol about him?"

In the excitement of the strengthening spell, Syaoran had utterly forgotten. "No..."

Sakura sighed. "Well, it's not my quest," she said. "I'm not the one who's going to pay for it if I don't find the Fountain of Youth."

Syaoran didn't need the reminder. Everything involved with the quest was a mistake: thinking the fountain was in Tomoeda, and now mistaking it as a simple spell. "Want to look him up at the library again?" he tried.

"Nah," said Sakura, and a smile slowly pulled at the corner of her lips. "I've got a better idea."

"What?"

"We've got closer sources than that," Sakura said. "You, go home, and ask Eriol about Clow Reed. Then, you come to my house at about four. I'll take care of the rest."

88888888

"Dinner at the Kinomoto house," said Eriol, watching his cousin button the last few buttons on his shirt. "I'm sorry I can't go."

"Can't go?" asked Syaoran, taking a look at himself in the mirror. He reminded himself that he needed to ask Eriol about Clow Reed. He couldn't forget. Not this time. "Why not? You were invited."

"Finishing my painting for art club," Eriol explained. "I'm going down to Penguin Park with Tomoyo, and we're going to finish it there."

"Oh, great," said Syaoran. He needed to present the topic now. "Listen, what do you know about Clow Reed?"

"Clow Reed?" Eriol said, wrinkling his nose.

"Yeah," Syaoran said. He watched his cousin's face avidly. "You know; the painter. The one who did all the paintings you've got hanging all over the place."

"Yes, yes," said Eriol, waving a hand. "I know who you're talking about."

"So, what do you know about him?" Syaoran could hardly breathe. He was so intent on Eriol, that he forgot to blink, and his eyes became painfully dry.

"All I can really say about Clow Reed," said Eriol, "is that he disappeared."

"He disappeared?"

"Yeah," said Eriol. "He just up and vanished from the public eye. Some say he died, some say he retired somewhere warm. No one really knows."

It was off putting that Clow Reed, their only remaining lead was disappearing. Yet, mysterious...

"Don't worry so much about it," said Eriol. "Go on to Sakura's house, will you? And have fun for me."

88888888

Nakuru dropped Syaoran off at Sakura's house as planned.

"Come up with anything?" the girl asked as soon as Syaoran knocked on her door.

"Not really," said Syaoran. "All Eriol told me was that he disappeared."

"Disappeared?" said Sakura, an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, I know!" exclaimed Syaoran, and he thought about how weird his cousin was. He marveled at how the Eriol's mind worked. "What kind of lame excuse is that? I mean, come on! The guy is obviously holding out on us! He knows something he won't tell us. I swear, he's purposefully sabotaging the search."

"I don't think Eriol would try to sabotage you," said Sakura. "He's too nice."

Syaoran snorted. "Just because he's nice-"

"Besides," interjected Sakura, pointedly. "He brought you here didn't he?"

This was true. Syaoran couldn't say anything to that. If Eriol had wanted to stop him from searching, he would have sidelined him in London. Eriol would've kicked him out of the house, or barred him from entering the library. But the boy welcomed Syaoran with open arms, open doors, and open books.

Trying to figure out his cousin gave the amber eyed boy a headache. He cleared his head with a good shake then asked, "What about you? What'd you come up with?"

"Well," she said, "I tried to call my dad about Clow Reed, but his hotel said he'd already left. So we can't get in touch with him until he touches down in Tokyo. I tried talking to Yuki, but he started tearing up and wouldn't talk to me anymore-"

"What?! Why?"

"I have no idea. But this leaves us-" she headed for the stairs "-with one last person to talk to."

"Who?"

They reached the hall upstairs. Sakura opened her bedroom door slowly.

"Kero," Sakura said. "The stuffed animal from Clow Reed's painting."

"I was a lion in that painting!" roared a voice. A small stuffed bear fluttered up to her uncomfortably near Sakura's face.

Sakura laughed nervously. "Sorry Kero," she said. "I keep forgetting."

"You always forget," Kero said, in a mock pout.

Syaoran was in awe with the flying stuffed animal. "It looks exactly like Supi. Except, with smaller eyes. And circular ears-"

"Who's this Supi?" blared Kero, slapping Syaoran's shoulder.

Sakura giggled. "Syaoran, this is Kero. Kero, this is Syaoran. He's my classmate."

"Uh huh, uh huh," said Kero, carelessly. He breezed closer to Sakura's bed, which was lost under piles of stuffed animals. Syaoran nearly lost sight of Kero too, except the animal wouldn't stop moving, and it kept grumbling about finding a place to sit.

Sakura and Syaoran approached the bed, the better to speak with Kero.

"So, who's this Supi?" asked Kero.

"Supi's my cousin's stuffed animal," answered Syaoran.

"Hey," Kero said. "Don't go making comparisons of me to reject stuffed animals. I'm not a stuffed animal, kid. Get it right."

"Okay," said Syaoran, choosing to humor the bear. However way he looked at it, Kero was certainly a stuffed animal.

88888888

Author's Notes: Thank you to Hikari Mizu for reviewing. (I'm just really paranoid, aren't I?)


	14. Interviews

Fountain of Age

Summary: AU. Syaoran and Eriol are on the trail of the Fountain of Youth... a trail that would lead them inevitably to Tomoeda... and Sakura...

Disclaimer: I don't own Card Captor Sakura. None of it: manga, anime, little plushie Keros; I own nothing.

88888888

Chapter 14: Interviews...

88888888

"Kero," said Sakura, settling at the edge of the bed, and getting straight to the point. "We came to ask you about Clow Reed."

"My painter?" clarified Kero.

"Your painter," Sakura confirmed.

The stuffed animal actually smiled. Dreamily. "Ah, Clow Reed," he said. "He was a brilliant magician. And if you keep working at your magic, Sakura, you'll be just as strong as he was." Then he turned on Syaoran, his tone flipping from bright to menacing. "And as for you, brat. I sense magic. But you're weak. Couldn't beat Clow Reed unless a miracle happened."

Syaoran blushed.

"Anything else?" asked Sakura, urging the animal to speak more.

"He was a marvelous painter, let me tell you that," Kero said, smugly. "How else could he make such a ferocious lion like myself? But his father never was very happy with Clow's paintings. He thought Clow should've gone into science." Kero scowled. "As if a brilliant painter and magician like himself needed that.

"So, Clow left. Took an art scholarship and left for England. Angered his dad even more."

"He went to England..." repeated Sakura, thoughtfully.

"And as far as I know, he's still there," said Kero.

The two teenagers exchanged glances. There were so many connections binding England to Tomoeda: Syaoran had been there about three weeks ago; before being led to Japan. Then there was Sakura's dad who was finally returning home, and now, Clow Reed.

"Mizuki Kaho," Sakura added, in a whisper.

"Oh, right," said Syaoran, almost forgetting the mysterious author. He dug out the spell Sakura had told him to bring, and spotted Mizuki's name at the bottom. Why was it there?

"What have you got there, brat?" Kero asked. He flew closer to the paper.

"None of your business," said Syaoran. He disliked being called a brat. He tried to keep the spell out of Kero's reach, but the stuffed animal was too fast. A second later, Kero was settling back in his seat, the spell in his little paws. Syaoran nursed several bitten fingers.

"'The Fountain of Youth,'" Kero read. Then he threw it back at Syaoran. "It's just a strengthening spell."

"Yeah, yeah," said Syaoran. "We know."

Sakura reached for the paper. "There's a name at the bottom," said Sakura, pointing at it. "Kero, do you know who Mizuki Kaho is?"

"Mizuki Kaho?" Kero clarified. "The Mizuki girl? Of course. Only other magic family in town; I believe."

Syaoran immediately forgot his fingers hurt. "Mizuki Kaho was a magician?"

"Yeah," Kero said. "She was... okay." Meaning, she was very good. "Very annoying. She was always bothering Clow when he was around. But, I don't know. I think they really liked each other. She followed him to England, that's for sure."

"So, Clow and Ms. Mizuki knew each other?" asked Sakura, her eyes fit to pop. Syaoran knew the thought that was running through her head: Why didn't they talk to Kero earlier?

"Yeah," said Kero. "He even did a painting of her. Not really one of his best though. She kept looking to the side for some reason; she insisted he paint her like that." Kero wrinkled his nose. "Horrid little snot."

Syaoran found that his fingers were trembling, and when he spoke, his voice was trembling too. "E- exactly what does Mizuki Kaho look like?"

"Long brown hair, brown eyes; absolutely ordinary," supplied Kero. "And she always wore these big fat pearls in her ears. 'Course her family's dead wealthy." Kero gritted his teeth. "I hated those pearls."

"That sounds exactly like the painting Eriol has in his library," Syaoran breathed. He explained to the puzzled Kero about his cousin's art collection.

"So he must've gone on to become a big time painter, eh?" said Kero. "Well, as long as he's happy, I guess, I'll forget that he forgot about us."

"He forgot about you?!"

"Well, okay," admitted Kero. "He didn't forget us. He left us to take care of his brother's family." He stuck out his tongue. "But then again, he FORGOT to tell his brother's family we were here."

"Brot-"

Ding dong!

Sakura shrieked. "He's here!" She rushed out of the room, hurled himself down the stairs, and jumped into the wide open arms of the man at the door.

Syaoran and Kero got to the door just in time for the man to say, "Hey- hi."

"I missed you, I missed you, I missed you!!" Sakura shrieked.

"I missed you too, Sakura," the man said sheepishly. He looked familiar, with those spectacles that flashed sunlight in several directions.

"That's him," whispered Kero. "That's Clow's brother."

"Mr. Kinomoto?" said a startled Syaoran. But if Clow was Mr. Kinomoto's brother, that made Clow a Kinomoto too... but his last name was Reed!

The man at the door had heard Syaoran. "Oh hello," he said. "Who's this Sakura?"

Or maybe, it was Mr. Kinomoto that was really a Mr. Reed... but why would he change his name?

"This is Li-"

"Mr. Kinomoto," Syaoran broke in, with a respectful bow. "Do you know Clow Reed?"

"Of course," Mr. Kinomoto said with a smile. "He's my brother."

"Your brother, Dad?" exclaimed Sakura. "But his last name's Reed!"

"That's just a pseudonym, dear," said Mr. Kinomoto. "His real name is Eriol."

"Eriol... Kinomoto?"

"Yeah," nodded Mr. Kinomoto. "He lives in England."

ERIOL?! Sakura caught Syaoran's eyes, and he knew she was thinking the same thing: Just how common was the name Eriol? He tried to think of anyone else he knew named Eriol, but he couldn't come up with anyone.

Could... could that then mean that the Eriol Syaoran knew, was the same as the Eriol Mr. Kinomoto was referring to?

No! Not a chance! The Eriol Syaoran knew was fourteen. He went to school, did homework: normal fourteen year old stuff. He couldn't be Mr. Kinomoto's brother, couldn't have done all those paintings, couldn't have gone to college. He was fourteen!! It wasn't him!

Ah, said the voice in the back of his head, but he DOES do things that normal fourteen year olds don't and shouldn't be able to do. He lives in a house all by himself. He destroyed the Kinomoto garden and fixed it in one night. He isn't a normal fourteen year old.

But, did that make him Clow Reed?

He was running his fingers over each other in thought, and he traced the spots where Kero had bit him. Because of that spell. That spell! Eriol knew exactly how it worked. Could he... could he have been hit with it?

Syaoran looked at Kero for confirmation of what Mr. Kinomoto had said. But it shrugged.

"Hey, we only know what we see and what we're told," Kero said. "Clow Reed never said anything about a pseudonym."

"If he's my uncle, Dad, why haven't you talked to me about him?" Sakura asked.

"Well, we haven't spoken in a long time," Mr. Kinomoto said. "We've been so busy with our own lives, dear. He just hasn't come up."

They needed a clincher question. A question that would immediately say whether Hiiragizawa Eriol, and Kinomoto Eriol were one and the same.

"Mr. Kinomoto," said Syaoran. What are the chances that he would know? The connection was so thin... "Are you related to the Li family in any way?"

Mr. Kinomoto stared him straight in the eye, unwavering. "My mother was a Li."

That was it. He needed to speak with Eriol right at this moment. Even if Mr. Kinomoto was on the other side of Li family tree, there were too many coincidences that supported the possibility. The paintings, the servants, the England thing. Only Eriol could provide evidence to the contrary.

He practically fell down the stairs in his rush to leave the house.

"I'm coming," said Sakura, and she nabbed a sweater from the closet before falling in step right behind him.

"Coming? Coming where?" asked Mr. Kinomoto. "Where are the two of you going?"

"I need to speak to my cousin," said Syaoran.

88888888

Author's Notes: So that's it. That's the big secret. But of course, you already knew that.

Thanks goes out to ccsbrat (Sakura a missing link? You'll have to elaborate on that one...) and Serenity's Blaim (Confrontation about the kiss? But it was such a small kiss! And I assure you, Touya was really mad. His dad shut him up.)


	15. In Penguin Park

Fountain of Age

Summary: AU. Syaoran and Eriol are on the trail of the Fountain of Youth... a trail that would lead them inevitably to Tomoeda... and Sakura...

Disclaimer: I don't own Card Captor Sakura. None of it: manga, anime, little plushie Keros; I own nothing.

88888888

Chapter 15: In Penguin Park...

88888888

The sun sunk behind the large penguin slide. Eriol watched it, rather morosely, Supi sitting on his lap. He knew what was about to happen, and he wasn't sure whether he wanted it to.

He blinked. Tomoyo was standing at the edge of the park, framed amongst the branches. She smiled at the sight of him. He stood up to meet her, and she rushed forward to embrace him.

"Eriol!" she exclaimed. The boy staggered under the sudden weight, his eyes on Tomoyo's train of bodyguards. Were they staying?

"Hiiragizawa," one of the bodyguards said.

"Uh, yes," Eriol said. He didn't want them to stay. Things would be awkward as it was.

"Thanks for bringing me here," Tomoyo addressed her entourage from Eriol's shoulder. "Please wait for me at the car. We'll be fine."

The bodyguards left the park, leaving the two teenagers to themselves. Tomoyo let go of Eriol, reluctantly. He hadn't hugged her back. Something was going on; something that couldn't be good.

"So," she asked, concentrating on why they were there, "what do you want me to do?" Tomoyo couldn't wait to be immortalized in paint. She saw a canvas and an easel standing next to him.

The boy dropped to the bench, and indicated the spot next to him; the one right in front of the easel. He lacked his typical smile, and it made him seem tired and worn out.

"Just right here," he said. Then added, almost hesitantly, "I finished the painting."

"Oh." She plopped down next to him. Tomoyo kept smiling as she examined the gorgeous finished product. Her painted self wore a kimono, and held a parasol in one hand. The other hand was busy catching cherry blossom petals. And of course, the eyes: the eyes that seemed to know exactly what she felt. Confused. A little sad.

"It's beautiful," she gushed. "But you made a mistake. The project says to imagine what I'll look like in twenty years. This looks like I haven't aged a day."

Eriol was petting Supi like the thing was a real cat. "Will you really," he said, "look any different than now?"

"Of course!" said Tomoyo, obviously. "Everybody grows up-"

"That's not true."

Tomoyo did not like that answer. What was Eriol trying to say? She tried to focus on the painting. "This is marvelous, Eriol, it's almost as if, um-"

He shoved an opened envelope into her lap. "I can't go to the art show."

"Huh?" Tomoyo looked at it, and realized that it was the invitation she'd mailed him. There was his address, her address; written in her own hand. "Why?" Tomoyo slipped the paper out, unfolded it, and was about to read the contents when a smaller piece of paper fluttered out of the folds.

She didn't remember sending him a piece of paper that size. Carefully, Tomoyo scraped it off the ground, and read the words on it instead.

_Try to find me in Tomoeda._

"I see." Tomoyo tucked the invitation back into the envelope, but left the note in her hand, squinting at it in different angles, then flipping it upside down. "Too bad then. They were going to show some of your work."

Eriol said nothing.

"Is that why you came?" Tomoyo asked. "To 'try and find me in Tomoeda'?"

Eriol seemed to find it difficult to respond. He played with the stuffed animal, like he was nervous and it cured him of it.

"I guess it was only a matter of time," she said. "You knew it. I knew it. All we needed was some concrete."

The boy's silence continued. Tomoyo wondered how he felt. Was he sad? Happy? Mixed?

"Did you have fun in London?" she asked. "I've heard it's a beautiful city."

"It- it was all right." He would not stop fingering the stuffed animal, would not look at anything but his lap, would not connect with her.

"Tell me," Tomoy said, gently, almost in a whisper. She leaned in so that he could hear her better. "Which do you like better? London, or Tomoeda?"

No sound filled the air. Tomoyo watched as the lights flickered on. The branches swayed with the wind, while the penguin slide remained stonily unmoved. Somewhere, a frog let out a loud soulful croak.

"I can't-" Eriol said, "I can't choose."

"Tell me," Tomoyo said again, ignoring his answer, moving on, "Was it a mistake? Or did you do it on purpose?"

"It was a mistake." He finally looked up. He spat out the answer; the words could not escape his mouth quickly enough. "I didn't mean to do it. If I had known, I would never have-"

She kissed him. It felt like he'd surfaced from a long, long swim. The air around him grew cold; he could feel his skin prickling. There was a moment in which he felt as though he was beyond; beyond pain, beyond breathing, beyond everything. Like he'd climbed as high as a person could ever go.

Then he was back on the bench, shivering. His clothes trapped him, held him tight in a suffocating embrace. Supi was flying off in the direction of Nakuru and her car, and he was left all alone with Tomoyo.

"There you go then," she was saying. She stood up, ready to leave. "You're immune now, Eriol. I hope that makes you happy." Tomoyo waited for an answer, but the man sitting in Eriol's place was too self-absorbed in a freezing cold only he could feel.

"Have a happy life."

88888888

Author's Notes: Chapter sixteen is the last one.

Thanks to my reviewers, as always: Hikari Mizu (Took me a long time to guard that twist), Crystal Tearz (Please don't faint), ccsbrat (Wait until after the chapter sixteen, then please tell me specifically what's confusing. Be glad to help you out), sakura11 (hee!) and the person who signed themselves as ... (interesting...)


	16. In The Lit Dark

Fountain of Age

Summary: AU. Syaoran and Eriol are on the trail of the Fountain of Youth... a trail that would lead them inevitably to Tomoeda... and Sakura...

Disclaimer: I don't own Card Captor Sakura. None of it: manga, anime, little plushie Keros; I own nothing.

Author's Notes: I almost abandoned this story, but I had too much fun not to finish it. So here's the end, and I can't think of anything else to say because I'm too tired. Sorry. Any responses to reviews (if any) can probably be read on either my lj or the author profile. Toodles.

88888888

Chapter 16: In The Lit Dark...

88888888

Syaoran and Sakura rushed into Penguin Park as though their lives depended on arriving there. By then, the lights burned steadily, and the buzzing noise they created was dim enough to go unnoticed.

Nakuru waved to them from where she was standing next to the bench. Sitting on it was a man with long black hair. His head was bowed so that they couldn't see his face, and he wouldn't stop shivering as though it was winter, instead of nearly summer. Supi's eyes glowed from the man's knee.

"Hello, children," said Nakuru cheerfully when the two approached the bench. They both acted as though they hadn't heard her; they were busy gaping at the forlorn man beside her, shocked.

"Eriol?" Sakura breathed. She couldn't bring herself to say "uncle."

Nakuru patted the man's shoulder. "Dear," she said, almost like a nurse. "The children are here."

It took a few more prods, and a few more "dear"s before the man on the bench would stop shaking. He gave one last shudder then peeped at them through his long hair.

"Hi," he said.

Syaoran whistled. "No wonder you knew the effects of that spell," he said. "You got hit by it, didn't you?"

Eriol laughed; a small weak one. "You could say that," he said. His usual smile was starting to pull at the corners of his lips.

"So, why are you old again?" asked Syaoran. He spoke with a steel voice. Eriol was a nasty liar, and even if he was twice, three times his age, Syaoran didn't feel like showing him any kind of respect.

"I found the Fountain of Age," Eriol answered triumphantly.

"What?!" exclaimed Syaoran, and he came closer, as if short of throttling him. "Where is it?!"

"She left," said Eriol, laughing.

A frog croaked.

"I might be going deaf," Syaoran said, "but I think you just said 'she.'"

Eriol laughed again. Syaoran was such a monkey. "She left, all right. As in, she came, and walked away. Probably forever."

Syaoran and his niece were looking very confused.

"So, the Fountain of Age was a woman," Sakura said.

"Close enough," Eriol said with a nod. "Younger though."

"A girl then."

"Yes, a specific girl."

Syaoran was losing his patience. "Are we ever going to get a straight answer out of you? " he barked, and his hands seemed close to grabbing Eriol by the collar and rattling him. "If you want to tell us who the Fountain of Age is, just say so!"

Eriol looked at him blankly. "Tomoyo."

Sakura gasped. "What?!"

Syaoran just stood slack jawed, almost forgetting he was angry with Eriol. Almost. He crossed his arms, and stared his cousin down. "Well, I- I think it's time you gave us an explanation," he said.

"Explain wha-"

"Explain everything," Syaoran cut him off. "Just everything. From the beginning. And please-" he added, as Eriol opened his mouth "- no lies."

Eriol stood up, majestically, like a king from his throne. He towered above Syaoran by a good head. He was even taller than Nakuru.

"I guess," he said, seriously, "we could start with you Syaoran."

He looked directly at the boy. "You went to London to search for the Fountain of Youth. You told me that your mother had instructed you to find a book pertaining to the fountain. Whatever book she was referring to, it was not _Youth_."

"It wasn't _Youth_?" said Syaoran, faintly. He felt sick remembering how he'd forced himself to read it anyway.

"She was probably referring to any number of books that discussed the Fountain of Youth," said Eriol. "Although, none of those books would've told you anything different from what I already did. No book exists that would've just given so private a secret. I was sure you weren't going to find anything all, but you found _Youth_, and you thought it was the answer to your problems."

"But it wasn't," said Sakura.

"No, it wasn't," agreed Eriol. "What Syaoran actually found was the answer to _my_ problems. A lead to the Fountain of Age. I didn't tell Syaoran then, because he wouldn't have come to Tomoeda with me. He would've stayed in London where he might've actually found something. I couldn't let that happen."

"Why not?"

"I'll get to that," said Eriol. "But, I allowed Syaoran to come to Tomoeda and pursue the fountain. Who would've dreamed that my quest for Fountain of Age would bring me back to this place! Back to the place where I grew up, the place where I first met Kaho, the place where-" he smiled at Sakura "-my brother's wonderful, beautiful family was living. The last time I was here was the year Sakura was born. I haven't seen you guys in so long, I almost didn't remember about those painting servants I left. They would've recognized me, and I didn't want them to give away my secret. Not yet. Not when I wasn't ready." He patted his niece.

"Kaho wrote _Youth_ to help her communicate with Tomoyo. She used my drawing of the fountains as a marker. Tomoyo left a note in Kaho's copy so that Kaho would know where she was, and that is the note that Syaoran found."

"But why would Kaho want to talk to Tomoyo?" asked Syaoran, confused.

"You don't get it yet?" said Eriol, and he laughed.

The boy scowled. "Just tell us!"

"Kaho is the Fountain of Youth, Syaoran," he said. "The person you've been searching for. She is as inextricably linked to Tomoyo as the head of a coin is linked to its tail. She was the one who reduced me to my fourteen year old self."

Syaoran's voice popped out strained and squeaky. "You weren't hit with that spell at all?"

Eriol shook his head again, and rummaged around in the pockets of his coat. "The two of us invented that spell before I left for England. I didn't know she'd played around with that thing until she came back with my copy of the spell." He extracted a piece of paper from a pocket. It was the spell, and _Kinomoto Eriol_ was written at the bottom. "I suppose she was trying to waylay people so that they would think this thing was the Fountain of Youth instead of herself."

The two children were now too shocked to speak a word.

Eriol smiled at them bittersweetly. "Kaho and I," he said, "have known each other for years. We fell in love when we were in college. I always thought that I'd end up marrying her, but she didn't agree. She would never let me kiss her, and for a long time I thought it was because she didn't like me. But that wasn't it." He held out his hands, presenting himself to the two teenagers. "It was because she knew she... she'd, well, shrink me."

Sakura sniffled. Syaoran looked at her oddly. Was she threatening to cry?

"It was an accident," said Eriol. "She tripped, and I caught her, and..." He didn't want to continue. He knew the kids would understand.

"Afterwards," he said, "she left. She left, and the only thing she gave me was that book. I became obsessed with the Fountain of Youth, and read everything I could about it. I learned about the Fountain of Age, and decided that I would find it. And when Syaoran- when you came, you found that book, and you brought us here."

The wind whistled.

"That's it," finished Eriol, lamely.

Another sniffle escaped his niece. "What- what about Tomoyo? Did you kiss her by accident too?"

"Tomoyo?" Eriol asked, wrinkling his nose. He found it strange that Sakura was hooked on that fact. Well, she was her friend. "No, Tomoyo kissed me on purpose. She made me immune too."

"Immune to what?" snapped Syaoran, as tears became visible on Sakura's cheeks. Women...

"Immune to both of them," said Eriol. "I can return to Kaho, and we can get married if we wanted to. Or..." He remembered Tomoyo's smiling face.

So did Sakura. "Did you," she wept, "Is that why you went out with Tomoyo? Just because she's the Fountain of Age?!"

"N- no!" said Eriol as an onslaught of tears rocked Sakura's frame. Syaoran grabbed Sakura protectively before Eriol could touch her. He glared at his cousin who continued to explain himself. "I went out with your friend, Sakura, because she is a brilliant young woman. Mature beyond her years. It wasn't because she was the Fountain of Age. I didn't even know she was the Fountain of Age until I saw her handwriting. Please! You must believe me..."

Eriol stopped. Sorrowfully, he watched his niece sob into Syaoran's shoulder. Syaoran, for his part, looked simply murderous.

He thought about how he was no longer fourteen. He thought about how Tomoyo still was, and how kind she'd been. "It would be wrong," he said, quietly. "It would be disrespectful to Tomoyo if-"

"If what, sir?" A voice interjected. Everyone looked around to find the speaker. They found Supi sitting on Eriol's knee. "You can change back if you want."

"What?" Eriol asked his servant. "I'm immune now, Supi, you know that. Kaho can't shrink me back."

"You can use Kaho's spell," said Nakuru.

"Yes, but it takes too much magic. And we don't even know if it works. It's just a stupid thing Kaho came up with to mislead people."

By then, Sakura's tears had dried. She stared at the piece of paper in his hands as if it was glowing.

"We could do it," said Sakura. "We could change you back. Syaoran's got loads of relatives, right? And my dad's back now so-"

"But it wouldn't be right," insisted Eriol. "I'm not fourteen, I'm-"

"Age is a relative matter," said Nakuru. "Tomoyo herself isn't really fourteen. She has existed for years; beyond even you."

"We can change you back," said Syaoran. "It's all up to you."

It was up to him. He couldn't help but smile a little at his relatives, and his servants, all of who waited for his answer. They seemed so determined, so ready to try anything for him.

But that left him with the choice. The choice he'd refused to make in front of Tomoyo. London, or Tomoeda? Youth, or Age? Kaho or Tomoyo?

Sakura, Syaoran, Nakuru, and Supi all lapsed into a discussion of the minute details they needed to care for if they were to undertake the spell. He watched Syaoran take Sakura's hand in his, and Sakura squeeze back.

He smiled. _No matter what happens to me_, he thought, _Syaoran, you found your source of strength, didn't you? _It is not a spell, or any kind of fountain. Not youth or age.

Just love.


End file.
